


Piece by Piece

by Sehrezad



Category: Chicago Med
Genre: F/M, Friendship, Gen, a whole bunch of ocs - Freeform, lots of Guardians of the Galaxy references, post 3x06 Ties That Bind
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-05-22
Updated: 2019-05-11
Packaged: 2019-05-12 15:13:15
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 7
Words: 30,578
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14728704
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sehrezad/pseuds/Sehrezad
Summary: Ever since Dr. Charles was shot, Sarah's been falling apart and when she finally shatters, Ethan is there to put back the pieces together, along with friends old and new. (post 3x06, Ties That Bind) definitely Sarah/Ethan





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Disclaimer: I don't own anything.

Ethan was standing in front of Sarah's apartment waiting for the young woman to answer her door.

"Hey," he said as Sarah opened the door.

"Hey," she reciprocating but did not make any move to let him in. That was all right, he just wanted to let her know about the development concerning her case… to gave her a couple of friendly words… to check how she was doing.

"How are you doing?

She shrugged.

"Anyway," he continued, a little reassuring smile creeping into his voice. "I just came by to let you know that because of his… accident… we were able to determine the source of Mr. Janichek's symptoms."

"I'm sure he is thrilled."

"He was lucky." She scoffed. "I thought you'd like to know." When, for a long time, no answer came from the woman, Ethan offered her a small smile again. "Good night, Sarah." And with that, he turned to leave.

"Ethan!" Sarah called after him when he was just about to turn to the stairs. He turned to look at her and wait for whatever she was about to say. "Would you like to come in for a drink?" She sounded uncertain and a small smile appeared on his face.

"I'd love to," he accepted the offer and started back to her.

"So," Sarah turned to him as soon as she'd closed the door. "Tea? Coffee? Water? Sorry but I don't have anything stronger."

"Tea would be fine," Ethan gave her a smile as he followed her to the small kitchen island. "Thank you!"

As Sarah prepared the tea, Ethan took his time to look around the small apartment. It was comfortable and well lived in. It was the apartment of a person who liked privacy and who enjoyed spending time indoors, among things that were familiar. It was Sarah. And he didn't need to be a shrink to know that it was a place where she felt the most comfortable.

It was disconcerting to see, then, her discomfort as she placed a mug in front of him.

They sat side by side by the island and in the silence that ensued, Ethan wondered why he had accepted the invitation which had been most probably offered as only a grateful gesture. It wasn't as if they'd been best of friends. But he cared for her, that was true.

He still remembered that young girl who first came to the ED. She looked so lost in the bustling department and so unsure of herself that he thought she would not last a week. But she proved him wrong. Granted that she could quickly get on his nerves with her stumbles in procedures and her notorious lack of people skills but he slowly came to know the young student. Contrary to what everybody would have thought of her at first sight, she was strong and determined; it just needed the right time to show.

That was why it shook him to see her fall apart in the ED.

Something was very wrong and he wanted to know what… he wanted to help her.

That was why he had come.

That was why he was still there, he realized.

"What happened in there, Sarah?" he asked finally.

"I panicked," came the sincere reply after a long pause. "He cornered me… and… I didn't know what to do to stop him. All I could see was Dr. Charles after he'd been shot. I just wanted him to leave me alone."

"I'm sorry for putting you in that situation," he offered, watching her hands grabbing her mug for dear life.

"You don't have to apologize. I'm a doctor. I should be able to deal with these situations."

"No, you shouldn't. What you did was wrong. But no one can fault you for trying to protect yourself when you feel threatened."

"No one asked why I did it…" Her voice sounded so small, "…how I felt."

"I'm asking it," Ethan said, reaching for her hand, gently prying it off of the mug. He squeezed it reassuringly and gave her a friendly smile when Sarah looked at him surprised. She did not pull her hand away, though.

"I was terrified," she finally admitted in a broken voice. "I'm terrified around strangers with no reason as it is, but when he started to yell at me and wouldn't back off… I… I panicked." Tears started to stream down her face. "I was so scared," she admitted, giving into the sobs that silently shook her body and Ethan couldn't help reaching out for her and pulling her into his arms.

"What do I do now?" Sarah finally asked, pulling away and wiping her eyes. She looked so lost.

"You take a little break and try to sort things out," Ethan offered encouragingly. The urge to calm her, to help her was suddenly so strong. "The world didn't come to an end and I'm sure that Mr. Janichek won't press charges. You'll be all right."

"I don't feel all right."

"That's why you are taking a break. Maybe what you need is a change of scenery. Have you thought about that?"

"You're saying that I should go away? What? Traveling?"

"Actually," he chuckled. "I have a better idea." Sarah looked at him as if he had grown another head. "What are you doing tomorrow afternoon?"

"Suspended, remember?"

"Then," he reached for a piece of paper that was lying on the table and grabbed a pen, "meet me here at 5." He pushed the paper in front of her. "And bring a change of clothes."

"What is there at 5?"

"Boxing training."

"Boxing training? You want me to pick up boxing?" Ethan found the frown on her face really endearing.

"No," Ethan shook his head. "I want you to get out of your apartment. To learn something new. To meet new people without the pressure of the job. And, maybe, in the meantime, to gain some confidence in dealing with other people."

"I don't know…"

"Come on, you have nothing to lose. And there are some really nice people there. I promise. Just give it a chance and if you don't like it, you don't have to come back."

"All right," Sarah agreed at last. "I'll be there," she nodded looking down at the paper in her hand again.

"Good," Ethan smiled at her and felt oddly satisfied. "I'll see you there then." And with that he stood to leave. "Try to have a rest, Sarah." He put a comforting hand on her shoulder. "You'll get through this."

"Thank you."

* * *

Sarah felt nervous as she walked up to the address Ethan had given her the previous day. She knew that it was partly due to the fact that she did not exactly feel comfortable in a group of unfamiliar people. But maybe Ethan was right: it was time to meet new people. Her isolated lifestyle could easily be a factor in her anxiety. And she wouldn't be there alone, she reminded herself. Ethan would be there. It would be all right, she tried to shook off her uneasiness as she spotted Ethan in front of the building.

"I'm glad you came," he walked up to Sarah with a warm smile and gave her a quick friendly hug. It instantly made Sarah relax somewhat.

The idea of her boxing still felt ridiculous but she couldn't help but get just a little bit excited.

"Hey, if hitting something makes me feel better, I'm all for it." She shrugged with a grin.

"That wasn't what I had in mind but that's a good start. Let's go." He put a hand on her shoulder and guided her inside. "Hey, Cindy," he greeted the woman by the reception desk. "This is Sarah. A friend of mine. She'll train with us today."

"Hey there," the woman stood and offered a hand to Sarah in introduction. "I'm Cindy. If you need anything, you just come to me."

"Thank you!"

"You kids have fun!"

"We will," Ethan assured the woman and promptly guided Sarah down a corridor and pushed a door open for her. "Here we are. Changing room is two doors down the hall. Training starts at 1700 sharp."

"You didn't say that you teach boxing for kindergarteners," Sarah observed stunned, completely ignoring what he had just told her, as she watched a group of kids running around in the room.

"I'm eight," came an indignant reply from her left and she gave an incredulous look to the little boy by her side with arms cross on his chest.

"Sorry?" she offered hesitantly then turned to Ethan. "Why are we here again?"

"To learn… to train… to have fun," Ethan told her.

"You're gonna train with us?" the boy inquired with a critical look.

"You've got a problem with that?" Sarah challenged.

The boy was just about to answer but Ethan jumped in. "All right," he put a hand on the boy's shoulder. "Brian, this is Sarah. Sarah, this is Brian. She'll train with us today." The boy, once again opened his mouth to say something but didn't get the chance. "And I expect you to be okay with it. And now, let's go get changed. We start in five."

Ethan showed the direction to the ladies' changing room again and Sarah turned to leave… but not before throwing a grimace in Brian's way.

"She's pretty," Brian observed with arms still crossed on his chest as Sarah turned and left.

"She is," Ethan agreed as he raised a bemused eyebrow. The boy was smitten.

"All right," Ethan spoke up when, finally, everybody gathered around him, "everybody, let's start the rounds." And with that, the kids started running in a circle. Sarah looked at Ethan with a raised eyebrow.

"Really?"

"Really," the man nodded.

"What happened to hitting something?" Sarah muttered as she reluctantly joined the running kids. Ethan smiled.

After the usual rounds of warming-up exercises, they lined up in three rows and started exercising some movements which, to Sarah at least, started to vaguely look like boxing. At this rate, they wouldn't hit anything today, she was sure. She thought about hitting Ethan. That would surely wipe that self-satisfied grin off of his face, she pondered as she passed him jumping on one leg and wildly waving with her arms to be able to stay standing.

And when she thought that it wouldn't get any worse, tennis balls were passed out. She took hers from a little girl with silent disdain. Her humiliation was about to continue.

"Why are we doing this?"

"It improves your reflexes," Brian supplied next to her. "See?" And with that, he started bouncing the ball on the floor and ran after it when he couldn't catch it.

"And it helps concentration and coordination," Ethan added.

"Then we can stop right here. I have no coordination whatsoever."

"All the more reason for you to practice. Go on," he indicated for her to join the others who were bouncing the ball with one hand then the other while trying to walk forward as fast as possible.

Sarah sighed resigned. "Just tell me something: Are we going to actually hit something today?" Ethan just laughed at that and turned to watch the group.

It became rather chaotic after that and not long after that, Sarah found herself laughing wholeheartedly while chasing after her wayward ball, trying to avoid the kids who were doing the same. She didn't feel such a failure after all.

To avoid further chaos, Ethan asked for the balls then asked the group to form three rows.

They took up the basic boxing stance and, finally, they actually started practicing… foot work. Sarah wanted to groan. And it wasn't only because she was ready to punch something… but she really did not have any coordination. Fortunately, some of the kids had the same problem and seeing their total lack of self-consciousness and steadfast will to learn, helped her to actually start enjoying herself. Nobody was judging her!

She managed to forget her discomfort so completely that, when they added a basic punch, she did not even think about her deficiencies and went with the flow with sincere enthusiasm.

"Jab, jab, right cross, body," Ethan repeated over and over as the kids moved with the rhythm.

After they'd mastered blocking as well, they were paired up to practice punching and blocking and Sarah quickly found herself face to face with a not so amused eight-year-old.

"Come on," Sarah turned to her partner. "You heard the coach." As an answer, the little boy only crossed his arms on his chest. "You've got a problem with me?"

A sharp nod then a curt reply, "You are a girl."

"And?"

"We don't hit girls. That's the first thing we learn," he explained as if Sarah were dense.

"That's very… commendable," Sarah agreed. Brian scrunched up his nose in confusion. "But your task is to try to hit me and mine is to avoid it. So, give it your best shot," she told him, taking position.

"But what if I hit you?"

"You won't. I have to avoid it, remember?"

"But what if you can't?"

"Then you'll hit me. I won't break, I promise."

"But I don't want to hit a girl."

"It won't be intentional."

"You're using a lot of big words."

"And you start repeating yourself," Sarah pointed out, lowering her hands. "Am I really arguing with a five-year-old?"

"Eight."

"Just hit me already." He did. "Ouch," Sarah looked at him stunned. "Did you just hit me?"

"You told me to," Brian shrugged.

"Yeah… When I was ready."

"Sorry. But you can hit me now."

"I won't hit a kid!"

"Are you two finished?" Ethan stopped by the pair with a bemused expression.

"He didn't want to hit me!"

"She didn't want to hit me!"

"Nobody's hitting anybody."

"He did."

"Snitch."

"All right," Ethan had a hard time containing his laughter. "What about more exercise and less talk? Let me see how you do it."

The rest of the training flew by and at the end of the session, Sarah found herself saddened by the fact that it was over. It was fun, she had to admit.

"Ouch! Why did I get that?" Ethan looked at her stunned when, after having changed, Sarah walked up to him and punch him in the shoulder.

"Because you didn't let me hit anything!"

"You didn't hear a word I said?" Sarah cocked an eyebrow at the amusement in his voice. "We come here to learn discipline and humility not to encourage violence."

"Who said anything about violence? I just wanted to hit something." It was Ethan's turn to raise an eyebrow. "All right," Sarah finally relented under his gaze. "I might have fallen off the wagon… just a little."

"Oh, you went full tilt," Ethan laughed out.

Sarah let out a puff of air but then let her lips curve into a smile. "I had fun anyway," she admitted. "Thank you."

"I'm just glad that you had a good time. Maybe I'm seeing you on Thursday?" The sincere eagerness in his voice made it real hard for Sarah to say no.

"Maybe…"

**TBC**

_Thanks for reading!_


	2. Chapter 2

Sarah felt apprehensive as she stepped into the rec center on Thursday. It was true that Ethan had invited her but she did not want to impose on him. It'd been easy to see that it was his place to unwind, to spend some time with his friends and students. He surely didn't come here to deal with her issues.

She was so grateful to him, though.

And he was right, too. It was refreshing to step out of her life and do something different… to meet new people.

Speaking of which, she spotted Brian sitting in the corridor.

She nodded to Cindy at the reception desk then walked up to the boy who had his earphones plugged in.

"Hey," Sarah greeted him as she sat down next to him. "What are you listening to?"

"The Beatles."

"Really?"

"Yup." Brian's dark locks danced as he nodded. "They are old but they're good."

"That's very true."

"Daddy always listened to it."

"Not anymore?"

"He died." His face fell for a moment but, then, he looked at her with pride shining his eyes. "He was a soldier. He was a hero. Where is your dad, Sarah?"

"I don't know," she shrugged. "I don't care." Then she belatedly realized that she was talking to a child. "Sorry. You should probably not hear that."

"It's okay. He wasn't a good man?"

"For a while, I thought he was." Honestly, she wouldn't know. She was still too young when her father left. But she kept reminding herself that Brian was only a kid so she adjusted her story accordingly. At least she hoped so. "He was my hero. But, then, he left. Just ran away. Heroes don't do that."

"They fight." Brian agreed.

Sarah nodded.

"Like Star-Lord," Brian continued. Sarah nodded again. Brian's eyes lit up with excited surprise. "You know Star-Lord?"

"Of course," Sarah shrugged. Why do boys always assume that only they like their comics?

"Comic book or movie?"

"Well, I like the comics but you can't deny that Chris Pratt is kind of cute."

"Eww," Brian scrunched up his nose. "Girls."

"Is that yours"? Sarah asked as her eyes fell on the guitar next to the boy. Brian nodded enthusiastically. "Do you want to hear me play?"

"Of course, let's hear it."

So, Brian got the instrument out of its case and started to play.

Sarah didn't know what she had expected but, surely, it wasn't what she got.

"Wow," she looked at the boy in awe, "that song is a beast. Who taught you that?"

Brian shrugged. "When I hear it, I play it."

"You're kidding me, right?"

Brian shook his head.

"Give me that guitar," Sarah asked and took the instrument into her hands. "Listen," she instructed the boy before starting to play. "Your turn," she handed back the guitar.

"That was cool," Brian grinned.

"Go on, play it."

And he did.

"I'll be damned," Sarah sat in awe next to the boy.

"Hey, Sarah," Ethan approached them on the corridor, a sincere smile playing on his lips. "Glad to see you here again," he told her and the warmth in his eyes made Sarah feel self-conscious all of a sudden but, fortunately, his attention quickly shifted to the boy next to her. "Hey, Brian." He tousled his hair, which made the boy wince.

"Come on," he whined, which only made Ethan laugh out.

"You're ready for the class?" Ethan turned to Sarah. "I'm having the big kids now."

"Actually, I thought I'd rather sit it out."

"Of course," Ethan nodded, regarding Sarah for a moment, then turned with a small smile. "Have fun!"

"So," Sarah turned back to the boy when Ethan left, "boxing and playing the guitar like a pro. You are cool."

"Nah," Brian shook his head then offered her a toothy grin. "I'm no good at boxing. I just like being here."

"You're cool either way, kid," Sarah laughed and tousled his hair just like Ethan had done before.

"Come on!" And just like before, Brian winced. "What's it with you guys and my hair?"

Sarah smirked.

"Are you waiting for a class?" she asked.

"Nah," Brian shook his head. "It's Thursday. Mom's working late and Dylan has Biology class. I'm waiting for Dylan to finish and come and get me."

"I see."

"You don' have to sit here with me."

"I don't want to sit. I want to hear some more of your playing."

"Really?" Brian beamed at her excitedly. Sarah nodded. "Cool," he acknowledged and jumped up from his seat. Sarah watched as he grabbed his guitar and other stuff and practically ran up to the reception desk. He exchanged a couple of words with Cindy, then turned back to her and waved a free hand for her to follow him.

She did and they ended up on the second floor in a small classroom with a couple of instruments in it. Sarah smiled and quickly found a guitar being pressed into her hands.

"Here," Brian said. "It's for the students, you can play it."

"You want me to play with you?"

"It would be awesome!"

"All right," Sarah gave in surprisingly quickly. "What do you play?" she asked, sitting down and adjusting the guitar in her hands without thought.

Brian pursed his lips, thinking hard, then his features lit up. "I can play everything from the  _Guardians of the Galaxy_ , both of them."

"You do love your oldies, right?"

Brian nodded with a toothy grin.

"All right," she steadied her hold on the guitar. "It's the soundtrack of the  _Guardians_  then." And with that, she started to play. Brian listened, then a couple of chords in, he joined her with a grin. It was only when Brian started to sing the lyrics that Sarah realized that it might not have been the best choice. The verses of "Come and Get Your Love" sounded strange coming from the lips of an eight-year-old. But he was having a good time, it seemed. Oh, well…

"What?" Brian looked at her blissfully clueless when the song finished.

"Nothing," Sarah shook her head. "It's your turn. You choose the song."

"And you sing?"

"I'm not making promises." She liked playing music. She loved the piano however hard she had seemed to be against it back in the days when her mother made her take lessons. And she loved the guitar. She'd never been too big on singing, though. She had a pretty decent voice but it was just not her cup of tea.

Brian started playing and as she joined in, he gave her such looks which finally compelled her to sing. When she started the words of "Southern Nights", she decided that it was all right. They were both having fun.

Sarah wondered at the potential of the kid. His playing wasn't without mistakes but how could it be? It was impressive either way. He had excellent hearing that was for sure. Under the hands of a professional, he could become a real miracle.

"Can I pick again?" Brian asked. "Please."

"Go ahead." Sarah laughed.

"Will you sing? You got a pretty voice."

"Thank you," Sarah accepted the compliment. "What you've got in mind?"

""Father and Son" from Cat Steven?"

"Aw… Ever since I saw the movie, I can't help but cry when I hear that song."

"It was pretty sad," Brian allowed. "But it was a good movie, right?"

"Absolutely."

"Maybe we could watch it together some time."

"You know what? We could."

"It's a date then."

Sarah rose an amused eyebrow at that but nodded along either way. "It's a date then."

They played a little bit more before Brian's brother, Dylan showed up and took him home.

It was only after she'd stayed alone that Sarah finally managed to comprehend what had just happened and she looked down at the guitar in her hands with a bittersweet smile.

* * *

"Hey, Ethan," Cindy called to him as he passed the reception desk on his way out. "Your girlfriend is still here." She smiled.

"What? Oh! Sarah?"

"That's the one."

"She's no…" he started but he could see the impish smile on Cindy's face and he knew that it would be futile to convince her otherwise. "Never mind. Where's she?"

"Room 203. Brian pulled her away. But he's gone half an hour now and she's still in there."

"Thanks, Cindy."

"I really like her," Cindy called after him. Subtlety wasn't her strongest suite, Ethan shook his head.

He found Sarah in one of the classrooms as he was told. She was sitting there alone with a guitar in her hands and an absent look on her face. Silently, he walked closer just enough for her to notice him.

"I haven't held a guitar in years," Sarah told him still distracted. Whatever was on her mind, it was weighing on her heavily, Ethan could see. He waited for her to continue as he slowly sat down on the chair next to her. "Thank you!" She suddenly turned to him.

"For what?" he asked sincerely stunned.

"For bringing me here."

"You're welcome." Ethan nodded. "How are you doing?"

"Fine," she started contemplatively. "I think." She shrugged then continued as something occurred to her. "I started group therapy."

"Don't sound too excited," Ethan laughed a little at her sour tone.

"It's just that I know that it is supposed to help me… to talk everything out… to people who can relate… But all I feel is being exposed and pushed into a corner. But it will get better, I guess. It was only one session." Ethan watched as she shrugged, she herself not really believing her words.

"I'm glad you're here, Sarah," he told her, understanding at once why she had thanked him earlier.

"So, when is the next training?"

Ethan smiled. "Well, I have the kids on Tuesday and Friday, then I have the teens on Monday and Thursday… and the adults on Monday and Friday after the kids."

"So, it's tomorrow then."

"You had fun with the kids?"

"I told you so, didn't I? Besides, until a tennis ball poses a challenge to me, I think I'm at the right place." Ethan actually laughed at that but, fortunately, Sarah took it with humor.

"You're just smitten with the kid," he teased her and Sarah didn't deny it.

"He's so cool," she told him with an excited tone, her eyes becoming wide with admiration. "Have you heard him playing the guitar?" He did.

"Well, he's smitten, too."

"We have a date actually," Sarah shared.

"Really?" Ethan cocked a bemused eyebrow. "Aren't you going a little fast?"

"Actually, I'm pretty sure it'll work out." Sarah smiled. "He's…"

She was cut off when Ethan's phone started to ring.

"Sorry," he told her as he checked the caller ID. "It's April," he looked at her apologetically. Sarah nodded as they both stood up: Ethan to answer the call and she to pack up the guitar.

"Hey, babe," he answered the phone then listened in silence as April droned on with her usual excuses for her cancelling their date, words like 'family' and 'brother' being repeated in a fashion as if they were foreign concepts for him and were needed to be repeated for perfect understanding.

He finally ended the call with a disappointed – and slightly irritated – 'bye', then he turned back to Sarah, who was ready to go.

"What is it?" she asked concerned, apparently reading his expression.

"It was April. She just cancelled our date."

"Oh, I hope everything's all right."

"Yeah. It's just… Noah," he sighed exasperatedly.

"Not the first time, huh?"

"It's just as if the kid couldn't tie his shoelaces without April." It poured out of him without his intention. "Sorry, I didn't mean to…"

"It's all right. I know what you're talking about."

"How are you coping with it?" he asked her then, selfishly hoping for a kindred soul who could understand him.

"Why would I be?"

"Aren't you and Noah dating or something?"

"There's nothing between us." Sarah was quick to make that clear.

"But he is trying," he prodded.

"Really hard," Sarah sighed. "But I'm done dating boys. Except for Brian," she added with a small smile. "He's got a legit reason for not buying his own clothes. If you ask me, there is nothing more disillusioning than a man who can't get his shit together. And I'm not talking about that simple fact that he can't find his way in the kitchen, but damn, why does a grown-ass man need his sister to arrange his daily meals." Ethan couldn't help the small smile that crept on his face. He didn't think he had ever heard Sarah talk that way. It was king of cute. "Sorry…" She seemed to realize that she'd been carried away. "It's not my place to judge… but I definitely won't take her place… if that's possible at all. And maybe that's worse…"

"That's okay. I told her something like that but, as always, I was brushed off."

"Anyway, I'm sorry about your date."

"That's all right. I guess I just have to eat the ravioli alone. Hey, you know what? Why don't you come over and have dinner with me? You like ravioli, right?"

"With spinach?"

"Of course. That's my favorite. With lots of garlic."

"Actually, that's my favorite, too."

"Great! So, what do you say? I made it," he stressed and Sarah couldn't help laughing out.

"Why, Dr. Choi, are you propositioning me?"

"Is it working?" He gave her his best impish look.

It did work. He took Sarah home to share dinner.

* * *

When Sarah got home from Ethan, she felt lighter than she had in a very long time. It was good to get out of her apartment… to spend time with Ethan and Brian. The afternoon reminded her of old times when she'd been hanging out with friends, playing music and having fun… and annoying the hell out of her mother.

Those were good times.

And, as always, it made her sad to think about how it all ended. How she let it end, after all, it was all on her. She was well aware of that. However, tonight, she didn't feel like pitying herself so she reached for her phone and dialed a number she nowadays only dialed ever so rarely.

"Connor," came the greeting of a deep male voice from the other end.

"Charlie? Hey," Sarah started uncertainly. "It's me, Sarah."

"Sarah? It's good to hear your voice. What's up?"

"You know how you're always telling me that we all should get together again?"

"Yeah. But you're a tough nut to break."

"Are you still in?"

"Hell, yeah," he answered without hesitation. "And so is everybody else. Actually, you can thank me for not letting Anna broke down your door and drag your stupid ass here. Her words." A tearful chuckle left Sarah's lips. "What about tomorrow? After classes and everything, say, seven-ish."

"Hm, yeah?" was all Sarah managed.

"Great! I call the others and tell them to prepare to make some noise."

Yes, Sarah thought, they'd been good at that. Suddenly, she couldn't wait for the next day.

**TBC**

_Thanks for reading!_


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

On Friday afternoon, Sarah joined Ethan again in his kindergarten boxing training, as she had labelled that group, and again had a great time with the kids. After training, she quickly changed and she said goodbye to a still sweaty and really hot Ethan.  _Wow, where did that come from?_  she wondered as she made a hasty exit.

She was quickly distracted from her thoughts of Ethan, however, as she started towards her destination. She had a plan for the evening after all.

She let out a relived sigh when she took off the crowded bus, then quickly took her steps towards an old building that melted into the city view of that part of town. When she stepped inside, however, it was as if she had stepped into another world. It was similarly structured as the rec center but it was smaller and had decidedly more money behind it.

It was the dream of her dear friend come true.

She introduced herself by the reception desk and was promptly directed towards a room on the first floor. When she stepped into the expertly designed studio, though, it was not Charlie whom she met. Actually, she didn't meet anybody per say, she just saw two pair of legs – one male and one female – sticking out from under a huge table.

In her haste to make a quick exit, her back bumped into the bulky frame of a man.

"Woah, there, girl!" A pair of large hands grabbed her shoulders and steadied her. "What's the hurry?"

"Charlie," Sarah turned to the man behind her with an embarrassed chuckle. "I just… there are two people in there… and they're lying on the floor… I didn't want to intrude…"

"Oh, but, please, let's intrude." And with that he gently pushed Sarah back into the room.

She took a moment to ignore the scene which had just made her flee the room and regarded the man next to her. Charlie Connor, her first and best friend. They practically grew up together. She loved that man like a brother, she pondered just as the sounds coming from the other occupants of the room snapped her out of her thoughts.

"Is that…?" Sarah asked wide eyed as she watched the two pairs of wriggling legs.

"Sure, it is. And her boyfriend. There's always some weird shit going on with those two idiots."

Sarah raised an eyebrow as a bemused smile played on her lips. Anna had always been somewhat eccentric. Despite of her petite frame, she had a big personality and an even bigger mouth. It never ceased to amaze Sarah that it was in ballet class that they had first met. Anna stuck out like a sore thumb among all the well-groomed girls who had discipline written all over them. She had an attitude that didn't sit well with most of the teachers but she was a damn good dancer.

Not like Sarah, who just tried to survive without breaking a leg.

Well, she stuck out like a sore thumb, too.

They became good friends.

"You're sure it'll work?" Anna's voice was muffled.

"Babe, you think I didn't do it before? I just have to find the right position."

"Ouch," she cried out. "That was my pelvis."

"Sorry, let me just adjust…"

"I told you it's too big" she hissed. "There is no room…"

"There's plenty of room," the man countered. "I can do this. Okay, here we go… Would you hold still please?"

"Sorry. Ouch. Would you stop pushing so hard?" She started sounding pissed.

"It's difficult to reach."

"I told you, no room!"

"All right, all right. Just hold still for a moment and we're done." A little silence. "Here. Ha! Told you so!"

"Yeah, you're a god." She sounded unimpressed. "Now, get out of here before Charlie catches us tinkering with his stuff."

The two of them crawled out from under the PA system just to realize that they had been indeed caught. The sheepish look on their faces, however, was short lived as the woman noticed Sarah standing next to a really not impressed Charlie.

"You break it, Wigotsky, you buy it," Charlie said in an even tone.

"Break what?" The man scoffed, his attempt at looking smug ruined by the fact that his red-blond hair was stinking out in all directions. "That?" He pointed to the equipment with his army knife still in hand. "Please. I can make it brew coffee for you with one hand behind my back."

That earned the man an elbow into his ribs from the dark-skinned woman next to him who up until now had been excitedly bouncing on the balls of her feet.

"I have nothing to do with this," she declared, pressing a roll of duct tape into his hands and conveniently ignoring the fact that she looked just as disheveled as the man besides her. Charlie rolled her eyes. "Can we move on?" she suggested impatiently as she looked at Sarah.

Sarah's amused smile widened, mirroring the one on the other woman's face. With a roll of his eyes, Charlie tilted his head, giving her the go-ahead.

If it was even possible, the woman's smile widened and with outstretched arms, she hopped in front of Sarah and pulled her into her arms with a happy squeal.

"It's so good to see you," she told her, her voice muffled in her hair.

"Aww, you, too," Sarah returned the sentiment.

She just felt Anna's arms loosen around her when an excited squeal could be heard from the door and the owner of the voice smashed into her from behind and held her in a death grip.

"Girls," Sarah managed to croak, "I'm really glad to see you but… I'm being suffocated here."

"Oh."

"Sorry."

"Like the hair," Sarah complimented Haley's hair that was at the moment dyed deep green. "Like your hair, too, Johnny" she continued looking at the man standing behind her small friend.

"It's freaking hot, right?" Haley asked with awe as she stepped aside to let the man envelop Sarah in a warm hug.

"Damn, I missed you. You don't come, you don't call," Johnny said, squeezing Sarah gently.

"You're not the easiest man to find, either, Johnny."

"Well, I'm state side now… permanently."

"I guessed that. They don't let you run around with these locks in the Army," Sarah laughed, appreciating his shoulder length hair that curled slightly at the ends. There were women who would kill for a hair like that.

"Hey," Anna got hold of her hand then, and pulled her in front of her boyfriend. "Sarah, this is Paul. Paul, this is Sarah."

Paul was someone one would call "ruggedly handsome" but he had something childishly endearing about him as well. He was almost as tall as Charlie but his built was less chubby and more like a soldier's like Johnny. Sarah liked him.

"Hey," Paul pulled her into a friendly hug. "Not to sound like a creeper but I feel like I already know you."

"Creeper," Haley sing-songed behind them.

"That's all right," Sarah smiled. "I know a lot about you, too."

"Steve," Anna nodded, referring to her older brother with whom Sarah had stayed in contact.

"Well," Paul cleared his throat, "in that case, everything he told you… well, it's true," he shrugged unapologetically.

"Let's make some music, shall we?" Charlie suggested, grabbing one of the guitars in the room.

"Please!" Paul spoke up in a tone that suggested that he'd been waiting for this for a long time. "I can't get 'Like a Prayer' out of my head the whole day. Make it go away."

That earned a sympathetic look and a pat on the back from his girlfriend but Sarah saw the look Charlie and Johnny had exchange as Johnny took his place behind the drums and Charlie adjusted his hold on his guitar. They threw her a quick questioning look and when she nodded, they grinned. Haley silently shook her head as she settled down on the couch.

Sarah had already had her guitar in hand when Anna's voice started up in a gentle tone.

" _Life is a mystery_ ," Paul groaned with a disbelieving look, as Sarah joined her friend, providing the chords in harmony of her voice, " _everyone must stand alone, I hear you call my name, and it feels like…_ " And here was where Johnny stepped in and Paul's face lit up, "… _home_." Anna finished the verse on a decidedly stronger tone accompanied by Charlie, who provided the lead from the last word of the verse.

"Oh, yeah," Paul commented as he grabbed his bass and, waiting for the right place, joined in as well.

Sarah was smiling, no, she was grinning. Feeling the strings under her fingertips, goofing around with her friends, making songs rock – it was familiar.

They played for a while, one song and another bringing up memories and ending up in hilarious laughter. Paul was game as well and was rather good at keeping up with the old friends.

Finally, they settled down on the floor, a couple of beers finding their way from a cooler Sarah had no idea how it got there. It was like old times and even though Sarah had not truly spoken with any of them in a very long time, it felt like they'd been together this way only the day before. It downed on her like never before that these people were family to her. It made her chest tighten but fortunately, it was the moment Paul chose to make an inappropriate comment about one of Anna's colleagues in the ballet company and she couldn't help laughing out. Charlie pulled her in a half hug.

On some level, Sarah knew that the others were avoiding some subjects but she chose to ignore it.

She was having a great time and if the matching wedding bands on Haley and Johhny's finger made her heart ache just a little bit, she ignored that, too. After all, she couldn't have gone to the wedding if she had wanted to, she thought bitterly.

It was again Paul who pulled her out of her quickly darkening thoughts. She didn't have any idea what he was talking about but his eyes were shining with humor and he was making some uncensored movements with his hands – yup, she could see why Anna was head over heels in love with that man – and she suspected that the conversation was still on Anna's ballet company and she couldn't help but laugh with the others if not because she found the vividly described incident funny then because it just felt good to laugh with the others.

"You are a pig, Wigotsky," Anna reproached him quite unconvincingly as she herself had a hard time containing her laughter. "But he's right," she shrugged. "Dancers could get pretty creative."

"And I am the pig!" Paul was scandalized.

"I love you anyway."

"I know."

"Are you all right," Charlie looked at her then. He was such an angel. He'd always been even as a little kid.

"I've missed out on so many things," Sarah admitted in a low voice under his searching gaze.

"Nothing that we can't get you up to speed about," Charlie told her, pulling her into a half-hug. The next thing Sarah heard was an excited squeal and an exclamation of 'Group hug!' from Anna. Then, they were tackled to the ground.

* * *

On Saturday morning, Sarah woke with a high spirit and got ready for her usual Saturday morning program humming some catchy tunes from the 70s. Her mood only ebbed as she stepped on the already bustling street but she shook herself and started with determined steps.

Her destination was only a twenty-minute walk away.

The vet clinic was bustling with people and their pets and Sarah patted a couple of furry creatures before she could have made her way into the exam room.

"Sarah," Steve stood up with a friendly smile playing on his lips, "I haven't seen you in a while." He gave her a hug.

"Sorry," she apologized sheepishly. "I had a lot going on."

"Everything's all right?"

"It will be," Sarah said decisively, nodding tightly. "I'll tell you later. But now, you're swamped," she pointed out the obvious. "Let's get to work," she told him, taking off her coat.

Usually, the clinic was open until noon on Saturdays but it was well past 1 p.m. when the last patient left.

"So," Steve started as they were silently cleaning up. "I heard you met the others."

"News travels fast."

"Kidding me? Anna called before you even left the room."

"Of course, she did." Sarah smiled, wiping the exam table. "I really missed them."

"What prompted this change of mind… if you don't mind me asking," he asked, walking up to the table and leaning against it. "I've been telling you to go back to them for years now."

"I'm trying to make changes in my life. This is one of them."

"Does it got anything to do with what's going on with you?" Sarah was silent for such a long time – giving her full attention to wiping the already clean exam table – that Steve finally reached out to stop her hand. "Sarah," he prodded gently.

She knew she could say that she didn't want to talk about it, hell, she could even lie that no, it didn't have anything to do with that, and Steve would let it go.

"Yeah," she found herself admitting in a weak voice, still staring at the table.

"What's going on, Sarah?"

She slowly turned around, leaning against the table, and gave him a pained look. She took a deep breath. "I'm suffering from anxiety disorder. I actually got suspended because I assaulted a patient."

"God! I'm so sorry, Sarah." Steve pulled her into a half hug. "How could I not notice it?"

"It's not that easy," she said, laying her head on his shoulder.

"Still," he felt terrible about it. "I'm here, Sarah. Whatever you need."

"I need you to take my mind off of things."

"Actually, I might just have the perfect thing for you." Sarah could hear the smile in his voice. "Come on."

He led her out of the exam room. The waiting room was silent, Becky, the receptionist, had already said goodbye and the sign on the door read 'Closed'. They passed the reception desk and walked up to the door on the other side of it. It was calmer than usual there as well as the adjacent doggy daycare was closed for the weekend but the couple of permanent inhabitants were still around and playing under the careful supervision of an employee.

Steve had been always like that: never being able to turn away a stray.

They waved to the young man in the playing area but it wasn't their destination. Steve led her to a secluded kennel where eight happily wiggling tales awaited them.

"Oh, my God," Sarah cried at seeing the puppies. She crouched by the bars and reached in to pat them. An older dog came forward then, demanding attention as well. "Hey, there, girl."

"They are six weeks old," Steve told her. "The little black one is Masie's, the others were left in a box out in the cold. Masie took them in."

"They are so cute."

Steve smiled.

"Go, your furry little diversions are wagging their tails for you."

Sarah didn't have to be told twice.

* * *

In the afternoon, Sarah settled in for a couple of hours of quiet reading but her plans were interrupted by a knock on her door. She frowned, not really expecting anybody.

"Dr. Charles," she said surprised as she opened the door.

"Hi," the man started. "Hope I'm not interrupting anything."

"Just my twentieth reading of Hogfather." Dr. Charles gave her a quizzical look. "Never mind. Please, come in."

"Thank you." Sarah closed the door behind him and watched as the man walked into her apartment with his usual assessing look. Guess he could not just help it. It made Sarah uncomfortable either way. Dr. Charles must have noticed that because he turned to her with an apologetic look. "I just wanted to see how you are doing. And I do not mean it in a professional capacity. I came as a friend."

"Thank you, Dr. Charles. And I'm doing fi…" A knock on her door interrupted her. "Excuse me," she said turning towards the door, missing in the process the curious look that crossed the man's face.

"Hey," Ethan gave her an apologetic smile from the other side of the door. "I'm sorry. I was out with Brian when I was highjacked. He insisted that he has a date with you."

"Sarah," the boy next to him exclaimed excitedly. "We came to watch  _Guardians of the Galaxy_ ," he informed her with a huge grin, pushing the DVD set of the movie's second part up for her to see. Sarah raised an amused eyebrow as the boy pushed past her into the apartment, then she looked at Ethan who was still standing in the door.

"What are you waiting for? Come on in."

"Who are you?" came the boy' voice from behind them.

"Brian," Ethan's scolding voice followed as he stepped into the apartment with Sarah behind him.

"Dr. Choi," Dr. Charles greeted the other man with apparent surprise.

"Sorry for the kid," the other man offered.

"That's all right," he dismissed the apology then turned to Brian. "I'm a friend of Sarah's. Who are you?"

"I'm a friend of hers, too. You wanna watch the movie with us?"

"Brian, I don't think…" Sarah started, sharing a look with Ethan but Dr. Charles interrupted her.

"Is it all right if I do?" he asked studying the box that had been pushed into his hand. "It looks… interesting. Is that a racoon… with a gun?" Brian nodded with an excited grin. "I'm intrigued." He pushed up his glasses on his nose.

"All right then," Sarah spoke up somewhat taken off-guard by the way her afternoon was turning out. "Everybody, settle down. I'll get the snacks."

"Sarah," Ethan followed her to help her get the snacks. "You don't mind, do you?"

"Of course not," Sarah smiled, opening a cupboard. "I promised him a date after all."

"That you did," Ethan grinned. "He wants you to meet his mom, you know."

"I don't know," Sarah looked at him with twinkling eyes. "Isn't it too soon?"

Ethan laughed out.

"Don't worry. She will love you."

Soon enough the opening credits of the Marvel Studios could be heard.

"You really don't mind watching this?" Ethan asked again as they settled in on the couch for the next two hours or so. Sarah just raised an amused eyebrow as she hugged a pillow to herself… a pillow that had the distinct shape of Baby Groot. "Never mind." Ethan laughed out then.

"Shh…" Brian turned back to look at the adults reproachingly. They obediently shut up, sharing a bemused smile.

Sarah loved the movie, really, but it turned out just as interesting to watch Brian and Dr. Charles interact as they were sitting on the floor in front of the TV.

"Wow, Kurt Russell didn't look this young in forty years."

"Are you allowed to watch this movie?"

"Oh, there's the racoon."

"Is that a tree?"

"Hm… It is interesting."

"So, he's just a child… They are traumatizing him… no wonder he gets aggressive."

Apparently, Ethan found the questions and comments just as amusing as his little snorts were anything to go by.

"I think we have created a monster," he whispered. Sarah giggled.

"Shh…" Brian threw them a look over his shoulder.

"How come he is allowed to talk through the movie and we have to be quiet?" Sarah whispered to Ethan. He just shrugged with a humorous smile as he leant back into the couch.

It was such a good experience, Sarah decided, watching a movie with others. Usually she kept her own company and, frankly, she did no wholly understand what was so great about watching a movie together. It wasn't as if you would have a conversation during a movie. But it was nice. Smiling at Brian's antics and Dr. Charles' sincere awe of the movie and sitting with Ethan just watching the movie and that unlikely duo in front of the TV.

It was nice.

"What is sexual love?" Brian asked, his head turned to Dr. Charles, who was obviously caught off-guard.

"We'll talk about it when you reach the appropriate age rating." It was Ethan who answered and, apart from a frown, it seemed to pacify the boy.

When finally the first chords of "Father and Son" could be heard, Sarah noted with a chuckle that Brian turned around with a cheeky look to check whether she was crying. She was.

And she refused to feel embarrassed.

"Well," Dr. Charles started as he stood up when he finally got the green light from Brian that, indeed, the movie was over. "It was educational." He smoothed down the front of his trousers. And for a moment Sarah wondered whether his interest was only to humor the boy who was so obviously excited about it, then, he continued. "So, you say it is Iron Man I have to start with to fully understand this… What was it again?"

"The MCU."

"That," the man nodded.

"But you have to hurry," Brian shared seriously. " _Avengers: Infinity War_  is coming out in May," he informed him then turned to Sarah. "We can watch it together, too."

"You've just got yourself another date," Ethan observed amused.

"Of course," Sarah beamed. "If it is all right with your mother," she added then.

"It is. She'll like you."

"You've got quite an admirer, Dr. Reese," Dr. Charles observed.

"He's okay, I guess," she smiled and tousled Brian's hair much to his chagrins.

"I'll get going then," Dr. Charles started. "Thank you for the hospitality… and the entertainment. It was nice meeting you, young man." Brian grinned.

After Dr. Charles left, Ethan and Brian also started to prepare to leave. They'd been already in their coats when Sarah's phone began ringing.

"Mother," she greeted the person on the other end of the line, her voice instantly becoming tense. "Yes, I got it… and I tried to ignore it," she muttered the last part under her breath. "I really don't have the time… Yes, I know but… I really don't… All right," she sighed, resignation mixing with exasperation in her voice. "I'll be there. Yes. I know. What?!" And it seemed that the rather one-sided conversation came to an abrupt end. "Damn."

"Everything's all right?" Ethan asked concerned.

"No, everything's not all right," she shook her head still under the effect of the phone call. "I need a date."

"You have a date," Ethan pointed out with bemusement.

"I'm afraid he wouldn't cut it this time," Sarah smiled bitterly as Brian was making funny faces at a vase which had a suitably shiny surface. Though it would be fun seeing my mother's face," she mused to herself as if really considering the idea.

"What about me?"

"What about you?"

"Well, you obviously have to appear somewhere and I'd be happy to accompany you."

"You don't even know what's the event," Sarah frowned.

"It doesn't matter." Ethan shrugged. "You need someone to go with you and I'd gladly do so."

"Are you sure?"

"I wouldn't have offered otherwise."

"You're an angel," Sarah beamed, throwing her arms around him.

The next thing they knew was that Brian was there, his arms around their waist in an enthusiastic hug.

* * *

Sarah began to think of boxing training as her usual Tuesday afternoon program. She was looking forward to spending time with Ethan, Brian and the other kids. There was only one thing that she found strange when it occurred to her fleetingly. It was already the fourth time that she'd been in the rec center but she had yet to see April there. She wasn't sure why that thought occurred to her but it was, nonetheless, true. Ethan was spending a considerable amount of time in that place…

"Hey, Claudia," Ethan's voice pulled her out of her thoughts as she was sitting on a bench in the training room, watching the kids getting picked up by their parents while Brian was merrily chatting with Ethan.

When her eyes became focused, she could see a woman walking up to them.

"Mom," Brian ran to her with an excited squeal.

"Ethan," she greeted the man as she came to a stop by him, Brian practically dragging her the rest of the way.

"Mom, this is Sarah. You know I was talking about her."

"Yeah, I know, honey," she patted the dark locks of the boy, then turned to the younger woman. "Hi, nice to finally meet you. I'm Claudia Garnett."

"Sarah Reese," Sarah stood and took her hand. "You have a wonderful boy there."

"Yeah, a wonderful boy who only talks about two things: boxing and his guitar… and now you."

At that Sarah looked at Brian with a look that was supposed to be reproaching but came out more amused at which Brian made a funny face and all of Sarah's efforts went out the window as she cracked a smile. Ethan smiled with her, then turned to Claudia.

"How are you?"

"Great, thanks."

"Ready for your team-building weekend with the girls from the office?"

"Don't even mention that. My sister bailed out on me so I still have to have a conversation with my boss about ditching it…" she said, pulling Brian into an affectionate half-hug.

"Wasn't it mandatory?"

"Can't do much about it when there is no one to watch the kids."

"I would do it, Claudia, but I'm on call this weekend. Maybe we can figure out somethi…"

"Sarah can do it, right?" Brian quipped.

"Brian, you don't put someone on the spot like that," Claudia chastised the boy. "I'm so sorry."

"That's all right."

"Please."

"Brian, your mom doesn't even know me."

"Please, mom."

"You can't impose on somebody like that."

"Man, I can't do a lot of things." He sulked, crossing his arms on his chest.

"It's okay. I'd be glad to watch after them… if it's okay with you, of course." For a moment Claudia looked unsure while Brian looked up at her with large eyes.

"Don't worry, they'll be in good hands. And this way, I can at least help," Ethan offered, somewhat surprised at Sarah's offer.

"Oh, I'm not worried about that. But… You're sure?" Claudia looked at Sarah. Sarah nodded and a huge smile appeared on the other woman's face.

"Thank you so much," she said before crashing Sarah into a hug. "You've just saved my job."

"Yes!" Brian was jumping with excitement. The adults laughed at his joy then quickly discussed the details.

Claudia was leaving with her colleagues for a long weekend early on Friday so she was to drop off the kids at Sarah's place on Thursday around dinner and she would pick them up Sunday afternoon.

Ethan noticed that Sarah's eyes slightly widened when Claudia mentioned that she had a toddler, Max. She remained silent, though, and did not back out. She looked decisively apprehensive, though. Claudia was blissfully unaware of the change in the other woman's demeanor.

"You remember that part of med school when you are supposed to look after a baby for a week?" Sarah turned to Ethan after Claudia and Brian had left.

"Yeah, Ethan answered zipping up his bag. "That would definitely come in handy for the weekend."

"I hacked the doll so that I don't have to waste my time on caring for a toy."

"Oh."

"Yup," she agreed.

She was in for an interesting weekend.

**TBC**

_All right, I know that it is strange that Claudia is willing to trust her kids on Sarah, but let's just go with it, okay?_

_Thanks for reading!_


	4. Chapter 4

As Sarah closed the door behind Claudia, she took a moment to compose herself. That was it – she had three kids in her apartment and she had no idea what to do with them. She turned around with a forced smile.

"So… Who's up for dinner?"

"Yeah!"

"Whatever."

The last reply came from Dylan who promptly plopped down on the couch and pulled out his phone and earpieces.

"Okay," she drawled looking at the fourteen-year-old.  _This will be fun_ , she thought dismayed.

"Don't mind him," Brian waved theatrically. "He is no fun. So, what's for dinner?" he asked, taking a seat by the dining table as if he had owned the place.

Sarah raised an amused eyebrow. "I ordered pizza," she answered, turning to Max still in his stroller. "Come on, buddy, dinner's ready." She fumbled with the straps and the struggling toddler, who was ready to leave his confines, but she finally managed to free the boy. "Hey there." She held him for the first time and smiled when Max reached for her face with his sloppy hands and gave her a cute giggle. "What am I going to do with you?" she wondered.

Well, as it turned out, there was a lot to do with an eighteen-month-old. And dinner was one of the easier tasks. Cleaning up after was a completely other matter. For starters, it meant a complete change of clothes for Max and the kid was loathe to cooperate. He'd much rather run around the apartment naked and have Sarah chase after him. The little weasel was enjoying that immensely. And so was Brian, who was just standing around laughing his butt off. Dylan just ignored them.

Sarah felt rightfully triumphant as she put the finally clothed toddler on the floor but the feeling quickly turned to dismay as she took in the state of the kitchen area. It was a disaster zone. And to think that it was after a pizza order! She dreaded what was awaiting her.

She didn't have time to dwell on the near future, though, as a loud thud interrupted her thoughts. She turned to the kids with panic rising in her chest. As it turned out in the short seconds she was contemplating her weekend with the kids and all the ways it could go wrong, Max had managed to pull out several books from the lower shelf of her bookcase, among them a huge anatomy book. The kid had strength on him! Although he seemed somewhat scared. She scooped him up, put her book back on the shelf and fished for a book appropriate for him among their stuff.

Disaster averted, she thought to sit for a moment and let Brian chose a movie for the evening. She just closed her eyes when she heard the telltale noise that told her it was time to change Max's diaper. Dylan snickered and Sarah gave him a death glare before turning her attention to Max, who ran up to her. Sarah could swear that he was trying to tell her what had happened.

That kid was more communicative than his fourteen years old brother.

She helped Brian start one of the Avengers movie then picked up Max and started towards her room, deciding on the way that a bath was in order for the kid.

It went surprisingly easy. Easier than getting the other two to get ready for bed.

Finally, everybody was in bed and Sarah was ready to collapse, too. She groaned when she realized that the kitchen was still messy like hell. She sat down on the couch for a moment before cleaning the kitchen…

… the next thing she knew was that it was around 2 a.m. and Dylan was shaking her awake to do something with Max who was wailing in his travel cot. Realizing that she would have probably slept through it if it hadn't been for Dylan, she said something that she probably shouldn't have in the presence of the kid (and she would deny it, would it ever get back to Claudia), then she shot up from the couch to collect the distressed baby.

She didn't know what exactly happened after that but she woke up in the morning, Max peacefully sleeping on her chest.

And if she had thought that the night was a disaster, she had to reevaluate her opinion – chaos was just about to break out. Morning was a blur of trying to wake the kids, making breakfast and sandwiches, realizing that the kids were still asleep, dragging them out of bed and almost begging them to eat something and get dressed – not to mention getting them to wash their teeth – packing everything and getting out of the door just in time not to be late from school.

There was only one thing she had forgotten – Max.

The boy was sitting unfazed in his highchair as she dashed back into the apartment.

Oh, yeah, and she was still wearing her clothes from the previous day.

* * *

"Are you kidding me, right?" April looked at Ethan disbelievingly after he had told her about the arrangement with Sarah and the kids.

"No," he replied levelly. "Claudia needed help so I offered her."

"So, you offered her to babysit her kids with Sarah. You're spending an awful lot of time with her lately."

"Are you jealous?" he turned to her surprised as they stopped by the counter. He could see Maggie looking at them with interest and he decided to ignore it.

"Please." He really didn't like the frown on her face. And anyway, what was her problem if she was not jealous. It wasn't as if she was spending the weekend with him. As a matter of fact, she was just about to travel out of town with her brother to visit some family somewhere… without him. "But you should really set your priorities straight." Her voice suddenly irked him.

"You're telling me to set my priorities straight?" April was always high and mighty when it came to her family and, frankly, it was all right. Family was important to her. He respected that. Her sudden outburst regarding his plan to help a friend, though, made him wonder just where his place was in her life. "What about yours, April?"

"There's nothing wrong with mines."

"Of course," Ethan scoffed. "Family first, right?" April nodded with conviction and Ethan sighed tiredly.

"You know what?" April asked, her expression annoyed. "I don't have time for this. I still have to pack. We'll talk when I get back."

"Of course." Ethan nodded, giving up. He knew when there was no point in arguing with April.

* * *

"Dr. Reese," Dr. Charles looked at the young woman with surprise as he walked up to the sandwich stand near the hospital. "How are you doing?" he inquired, eyeing the two large cups of coffee she had just grabbed from the counter.

"Dr. Charles, hey." She seemed distracted. "I'm just trying to function."

The man raised an eyebrow. "I thought you're not due back till next Tuesday," he observed as they started to walk after he had also got his coffee.

"Oh, I wasn't at the hospital," Sarah shook her head absentmindedly. "I was running around the playground over there."

"I'm sorry?"

Sarah stopped dead in her tracks. "Oh, shit," she exclaimed, turning on her heels. "Shit," she repeated as she stopped by a stroller and after downing the content of one of the cups, she started pushing it.

"Dr. Reese, what are you doing?"

"Trying to pretend that I did not just leave the baby here," she winced.

"The baby's with you?"

"Why?"

"Just asking." He shrugged.

"Dr. Charles, I appreciate your concern regarding my mental health but I can assure you that I did not go completely crazy and started stealing babies."

"I'm sorry for insinuating that," he chuckled at her indignant tone. "Guess I'm just surprised at seeing you with that baby."

"Tell me about that. I did not sign up for this." She took a generous gulp from the other cup. Dr. Charles raised an inquisitive eyebrow.

"May I ask what you signed up for?"

"Honestly, I had no idea," Sarah admitted. "Definitely not running around on the playground with a toddler. I swear I had at least three heart attacks just in the last hour. I don't know how people survive being eighteen months old."

"I guess thanks to the attentive parents. Toddler's waking up," Dr. Charles pointed out bemused.

"Oh, shit," Sarah mumbled then promptly downed the rest of her coffee before reaching for the fussy child. The boy seemed to be content just to sit in Sarah's lap and observe the world around him after she and Dr. Charles had sat down on one of the nearby benches.

Dr. Charles regarded her for a moment. She seemed exhausted and somewhat apprehensive but in a completely different manner than she had been in the last few weeks. She didn't seem tense, she was just uncertain. It was good.

"So, you're spending a lot of time with kids lately," he observed after a little while. "How is Brian, by the way?"

"He is well," Sarah smiled. "He's staying with me as well." Dr. Charles definitely looked intrigued. "And I am having a moody teenager, too. It's fun."

"I am sure it is," the man agreed and looked at Sarah with an expression which he hoped conveyed his interest in the details regarding the boys.

It did.

"Max, here, and Dylan are Brian's brothers. Their mother and Dr. Choi are good friends and when Claudia told us that she can't go to the mandatory team building or something like that because there was nobody to watch the children and it turned out that Ethan was on call this weekend, I thought why not… you know, helping a friend's friend…"

"That is very commendable."

"I just wish I knew what I was doing. I'm really not good with children."

"I beg to differ," Dr. Charles protested, indicating the peacefully sitting boy in her lap.

"You didn't see me in the morning."

"Let me tell you a secret, Sarah. Half the time nobody knows what they are doing."

"That's not very reassuring."

"All I wanted to say that it is okay to err."

Sarah smiled at the reassuring words then Dr. Charles watched as her smile widened. Apparently, she had just noticed a familiar face.

"Hey, baby, look who's there," Sarah cooed to Max and pulled his back to her chest as she talked into his ear. The little boy's face broke into a grin as he noticed the man walking towards him. Dr. Charles, though, was still more interested by the smile on Sarah's face. She was beaming.

Interesting, indeed.

"Dr. Choi," he greeted the man when he reached their bench.

"Dr. Charles. Sarah." He was awfully friendly. "Max, hey buddy." He took the child from Sarah's arms. "Are you having a great time with Sarah?"

"Just alone, Dr. Choi?"

"Just needed a break. And the weather is nice so I thought that my coffee's worth a little walk. I'm glad you're here, too." He addressed the last part to Sarah. "I need a little baby smile."

"Everything's all right?" Sarah asked concerned and Dr. Charles looked on interested.

"Yeah." It felt like the man was brushing them off but neither Sarah, nor he was inclined to push further. He so wanted to, though. "So, any plans for the afternoon?"

"Not really," Sarah shook her head. "It was good for Max to be out and I think Brian would enjoy that, too, but it seems that forecast was right after all," she indicated the quickly darkening skies.

"It actually advised for staying at home," Dr. Charles observed casually. "There will be a lot of snow."

"That's what I was afraid of," Sarah admitted clearly dismayed then looked at her watch. "And that was my break for the day," she let out a huff. Dr. Choi smiled fondly at her. "I have to do some shopping before picking up the boys and have to make something for dinner, too. Come on, Max." She stood up, reaching for the baby. "You can help me plan the dinner. How about that?" Max merrily grinned at her and the men couldn't help but smile with the little boy. "I guess I'll see you around?" Sarah turned to the men.

"She's really good with kids," Dr. Charles observed as Sarah and Max walked away.

"She really is," Dr. Choi agreed.

* * *

The kids were out of school by 4 p.m. and, seeing that boxing training had been canceled due to a hospital emergency, Sarah came up with the only possible idea that would keep the boys busy until dinner: puppies.

At the vet clinic, Steve was standing by the reception desk, discussing something with Becky when Sarah ushered the kids in.

"Did I miss something?" Steve looked at Sarah with a curious look as the little group swept the snow from their coats and hats.

"Funny," she countered in a flat tone. "I'm babysitting."

"You? Their mom knows about this?"

"You're hilarious." Sarah deadpanned. "Anyway, this is Dylan, Brian and Max. Guys, this is Steve. And I am in desperate need of something to occupy the kids till dinner. So, we came to play with the puppies."

"I can see why. That one absolutely looks interested." Steve pointed at Dylan who did not even lift his glance from his phone.

"Just ignore him, he's no fun."

"You have a strange way of dealing with kids."

"Hey, I'm just glad that I'm dealing in any way." Sarah lifted her hands in defense. Steve laughed out.

"All right. I still have some patients to see but you know the way."

"Thanks."

"Are you a vet?" Brian stopped in front of the tall man, looking up at him inquiringly.

"I am."

"Cool," Brian acknowledged. "So, where are the puppies?"

From the corner of his eye, Steve saw Sarah leave with the kids. He shook his head with an amused smile as he returned to his patients, missing in the process as Dylan sauntered back to the waiting room.

* * *

Sarah was beyond exhausted. She had no idea how parents were doing it but, from where she stood, parenting was an impossible task. Puppies seemed to have been a great idea as far as Brian was concerned. The kid ran off as soon as he had heard a dog bark and kept himself occupied ever since. Max, however, was a completely other matter. He liked the dogs no matter the size or the age but it didn't take long for him to get tired… too tired as a matter of fact after the eventful day. Poor kid was so exhausted that he didn't even want to sleep. After a while he just kept wailing. It took Sarah an hour and a battle with the baby-sling but Max was finally calming down, blinking heavily as he was pressed against her chest.

"You should head home now if you don't want to get stuck here," Steve appeared next to her and Sarah blinked up at him surprised. "Snow's getting serious out there."

"Oh, right," Sarah agreed checking the street through the window. It was dark, too.

"Little one's out?" Steve looked at the slumbering baby.

"Hopefully," Sarah sighed, not stopping in her walking up and down.

"You look terrible," Steve observed clearly amused by her predicament. "How did you end up with these kids again?"

"A friend of a friend needed a little help."

"And who made you volunteer?"

"Brian," Sarah smiled, then turned around when something occurred to her. "Where is he anyway?" She looked around. "Brian!" she called out for the boy. "God, I really suck at this."

"Don't worry. This is a fenced area. He can't get out of here."

Sarah gave him an unimpressed look. "He's a kid, not a puppy."

"Just trying to help." Steve raised his hands in defense.

"Sorry," Sarah sighed. She was so tired. "But if you really want to help, help me find Brian... and Dylan. I have no idea where that kid is, either."

"Oh, he is all right," Steve shrugged. "He was helping me out. He seemed really interested, too. He's just finishing up cleaning the exam room."

"Are you sure you had the right kid?"

"Pretty sure. He came in with you. Kid with the phone? Great kid. Really smart."

After a moment disbelief, Sarah shrugged. At least the kid had a good time. That was the point of their visit after all.

"All right," she said. "But I'm still one boy short."

They looked around then. It was getting late so only those dogs were miling around who lived there but Tina had been already rounding them up for dinner.

"Sarah!" Tina called to her from the puppy area and signed for her to go there. "I was just doing the final headcount before closing up when I found this."

Under a pile of contently slumbering puppies there was Brian lying with a huge grin.

"Look! They fell asleep on me!"

"That's kind of cute," Steve shrugged while Sarah only could get out a relieved sigh.

* * *

"Hey," Ethan stood by the door, holding a paper bag. "I brought food." His eyes bulged out when, instead of an answer, Sarah actually grabbed him and pulled him into the apartment.

"I'll take that," she said, grabbing the paper bag from his hand without any preamble and made a beeline to the kitchen area. Ethan followed unperturbed. He was beginning to learn that there was a side to Sarah that was endearingly quirky.

He watched on in silence as the kids cheered for the food – Max joining in on the merriment just for the fun of it – then smiled at Sarah when she finally stood next to him. He raised a questioning eyebrow.

"Yesterday there was pizza," she started to explain, "but now it was an uprising in the making. Care for some vegetable lasagna?"

Ethan looked at the boys who were wolfing down the fried chicken he had brought then turned back to Sarah and nodded, starting to get out of his coat. "Thank you."

After dinner, Ethan offered to do the dishes while Sarah got the boys ready for bed. He listened with a smile on his face as Brian bickered with the young woman about his choice of movie for the night then looked on impressed as she made him go to have a shower while simultaneously trying to get a fidgety Max into his nightwear.

"I haven't thanked you yet for saving the night." He was drying the dishes when Sarah walked up to him with a lightly slumbering Max on her shoulder. For a moment, all words left him and the only thing that came to his mind was that she looked beautiful with tousled hair and casual clothes (Is that a Led Zeppelin T-shirt on her?) and Max dozing in her arms. It must have been the baby, he quickly decided as he cleared his throat, trying not to sound embarrassed.

"Are you coming, or can we start?" Brian saved the moment by poking his head from the bedroom where they had re-located to watch the movie as Max's traveling cot was sat up in the living room where he was sleeping with Sarah.

"What are you watching?" Ethan asked when Sarah looked at him questioningly.

" _Iron Man_. Want to join?"

He thought about checking his phone to see whether April had left him a message but he quickly decided against it. It was already Friday night and she was yet to check in that she had arrived safely.

"Loved to."

Sarah gave him a smile then turned to Brian. "You go ahead and start it. I'll put the little one into bed first."

* * *

Next morning Sarah was jolted into wakefulness as a heavy weight landed on her. She groaned under the cover as Brian was giggling on top of her.

"What the hell," she cried out as her brain was trying to wake up, too.

" _Guardians of the Galaxy_  is starting," Brian informed her cheerfully.

"It's seven o'clock," Sarah squinted at her phone.

"Exactly."

"Not a morning person, I see." Ethan appeared in her line of sight, wearing a smile that no man should be wearing so early in the morning.

"Ethan," Sarah looked at the man surprised. "You're still… Oh," she remembered. Max had woken during the movie and she went to check on him. She had never made back to the others. "I fell asleep on you," she said embarrassed.

"That's okay. I was just leaving when Max woke up again, so I thought I'd try to get him to sleep without waking everybody… So, I stayed here. Hope you don't mind."

"Of course not," she gave him a sleepy smile as Brian got comfortable next to her under the covers.

"Glad to hear." It was his turn to get embarrassed. "Because I'm still stuck."

"What?"

"We are snowed in," it occurred to Brian suddenly and he jumped from under the covers to run to the window. "Cool," he acknowledged the amount of snow on the streets with awe, then ran back to Sarah.

"Why are kids waking up in an ungodly hour just to watch a cartoon that is easily accessible on the internet?" she asked as Ethan walked up to her with a mug of coffee a little later. Sarah accepted it gratefully.

"It's not about the cartoon," Ethan smiled at her.

"I don't understand."

"It's about that," he told her, indicating the peacefully sleeping boy burrowed into her side. "It's about spending time together. You've never done that with your parents?"

"I don't remember much about my father except that it was better not to disturb him when asleep. And I tried to spend as little time with my mother as possible. So, not really…"

"You're doing a great job, you know," he told her as he sat down on the other side of Brian. She would have never thought so before but she'd like to think that she was indeed doing a good job… or a somewhat decent job. She would take that, too.

"Thank you."

"They are having a good time. Obviously, Brian has a crush on you but I can tell that Max adores you as well. And Dylan? I haven't heard that boy talk so much ever since his dad died. He really enjoyed that visit to the vet."

"They are not as bad as I expected. Brian is a sweetheart, of course… and a big goofball. And Dylan is not half as bad actually. He just needs space. And Max is an angel… on speed," she added with a laugh. "A word of advice: never let a toddler loose in the supermarket."

The day went by quickly. Ethan made breakfast then they occupied themselves by playing board games, building a fortress out of pillows and blankets, and playing some music. They had some snacks in the fortress – even Dylan joined them – and Sarah also managed to doze of after lunch.

The afternoon found them sitting on the floor. Ethan was playing with Max – he was building some kind of constructions from colorful building blocks and Max was demolishing them with zeal. Sarah was playing cards with Brian while Dylan was leafing through one of her medical books.

Claudia had checked in earlier and confirmed what they had already expected: her return was postponed due to the weather. Sarah assured her that it was all right and the kids would be well looked after.

"I forgot to ask," Sarah looked up from her cards, "who's taking your shift."

"Will got stuck in the hospital so he offered to cover for me."

"That's nice."

"Sarah?" Brian chimed in. "Can we bake something?"

"What? You got bored beating me?"

Brian grinned and they got to preparing milk-loaf.

They were in the middle of kneading the dough when her phone rang.

"Who is it?" Sarah asked Ethan who was closer to it.

"It says Your crazy girlfriend," Ethan read the name then looked up at Sarah. "She looks like one, too." Sarah could see the smile tucking at his lips.

"Can you take it? She won't give up till I answer. Tell her I'm busy."

She watched as Ethan answered the phone and cringed as an amused and slightly disbelieving look appeared on his face. That was when he offered to put Anna on speaker.

Sarah wanted to shake her head for him not to do that but it was too late. So she went to wash her hands hoping for only one thing: that Anna would not embarrass her completely.

"Hey, girl," Anna's cheery voice came through the speaker as Ethan put the device on the counter next to her. "Who's the hottie with you? He is hot, right? He sounds hot."

Sarah did not dare to look up from washing her hands.

"Was there a reason you called?"

"Nah… just enjoying the fact that you actually answer your phone now." Sarah smiled as Ethan settled back down next to Max. "Oh, wait, there was a reason…" There you go. "I was gonna call to tell you that we're going out… getting wasted and getting tattoos… you know, the usual shit." That was not the usual shit, Sarah rolled her eyes. It was for Ethan's benefit. Why was that damned dough so hard to wash off? "But that's kind of mute now, seeing that we're snowed in and I'm currently naked in bed with my very sexy and… oh, wait, are you naked? Is he naked?"

"You know, what?" Sarah, at a loss and totally mortified, hastily interrupted her while covering Brian's ears with still wet hands. "I am naked. And so is he. And we were in the middle of something so… Bye!" Sarah cringed as the line went dead.

"You're gross," Dylan grimaced.

"I'm sorry for that." Sarah turned to Ethan. "She knows that I have the kids. She's just messing with me."

"That's all right. She sounds…"

"Bat shit crazy?" Sarah supplied and Brian giggled next to her.

"I was going to say intense but that works as well." Ethan smiled.

"All right, let's forget that this conversation ever happened and get back to baking that milk-loaf."

The sweet smell of the baking dough quickly filled the apartment and when they were sitting down by the table – with Max in her lap and the others talking merrily around her – she realized that her life hadn't been this good in a very long time. Even though she was suspended and she got her issues to deal with, she felt happy.

* * *

In the evening, after Brian and Dylan turned in to watch a hockey match (Sarah had made a pass on that) in what was currently their room, Sarah appeared in front of Ethan with a pillow and folded blankets in her hands.

"Thank you," he took them then they settled into companionable silence, reclining on the couch.

"I'll never ever will take silence granted again," Sarah smiled. Ethan smiled with her, opening his eyes and looking at her sideways. That was when Sarah's phone began to vibrate. It was Anna. "I love her but I'm going to ignore that."

"Are you and Anna hanging out a lot?"

"We used to. Then we lost touch. But, actually, thanks to you, I rekindled my relationship with my old friends."

"I'm really happy for you."

"Yeah. I forgot how much they meant to me. They are not just my friends… they are my family. A bunch of crazy lunatics."

"They sound fun. And impossible to ignore," he added when the Skype on Sarah's computer came to life.

"All right," Sarah took a deep breath. "I don't know where my headset is so you just have to ignore everything she says."

"She can't be that bad."

"You heard her in the afternoon, right?"

He did. But he also knew the type. Claudia was like that. She was a happy-go-lucky type of person with the complete disability to censor what comes out of her mouth. He suspected that Anna was like that, too. Still, the startled yelp that came from Sarah made him raise an eyebrow.

"Anna," she gulped, half-heartedly shielding her eyes. "Please, tell your boyfriend to dangle his junk somewhere else." A hearty laugh came from the speakers. "That's a nice ass, though." She actually blushed at that. He decided not to ask anything.

There was something humbling how Sarah let herself go in his company. As mortified as she'd been about Anna telling inappropriate things about him, now she seemed to be game without any reservation and she was giving as well as she got.

It was charming.

He stood up to give the women some privacy and went to check on Max. He was peacefully sleeping in his traveling cot and kept doing so even when his phone began to ring. For a moment, he felt annoyed at the disturbance but, when he saw that it was Claudia, he answered it with a warm smile.

"Hey, there," he greeted his friend, walking up to the window, the small space not leaving much room for privacy.

"Hi, handsome," came the woman's cheery voice. "How's it going?"

"It's silent." Just like the world outside. The snow was falling ceaselessly, only a couple of souls braving the elements outside.

"Oh-o, that is never good, my friend."

"Don't worry," Ethan chuckled, noting the lack of cleaning activity in this part of the city. At this rate, he'd be stuck here for some time. "The boys are watching the hockey game and Max's already asleep." It wasn't such a daunting prospect.

"Now, that's great. I've just hung up with Dylan, actually. What I'm really interested in is how it's going with you and Sarah."

"Claudia," Ethan warned her, turning to look at the woman in question.

"No, really," Claudia pressed. "What's up with you two? Are you two hooking up or something?"

"We're just friends," Ethan answered, mustering up all his patience. He loved that woman but she could be insufferable sometimes.

"Yeah, yeah." The dismissal rang loud and clear in her voice. "Let me just rephrase my question then… What the hell is your actual girlfriend doing right now?"

That was a just question, Ethan had to admit. Apart from a text earlier that day, saying that she had arrived safely, April had not contacted him and did not answer her phone, either.

"You have no idea, right?"

"I don't have to know everything she does," Ethan told her and winced at the defensiveness in his voice.

"All right," Claudia sighed at the other end of the line. "Where is Sarah?"

"She's talking with her friend. And before you'd draw any far-reaching conclusions from that, we are in the same room, of course I know what she does."

"Geez, defensive much?" Claudia laughed and Ethan grimaced. "I just wanted to talk to her."

"She's kind of busy being grilled by her friend about things that are none of her business. Just like I am…"

"Great, I want to talk to her then."

"I told you, she is busy."

"I got that. I want to talk with her friend." As if that made any sense. Wait, what?

"What?"

"You heard me. And now, take the phone to her phone."

"She's on Skype."

"Even better."

Sometimes Ethan wondered how that woman had the ability to make him do things he definitely did not want to. That was actually the story of their childhood. There were things he did not want to talk about. Claudia could come up with the craziest ideas… or the most embarrassing ones. Much like the situation he was just walking into.

When he reached Sarah, she looked up at him with a look that begged him to save her from Anna. He gave her an apologetic look.

"Claudia wants to talk to Anna."

"Why?"

"Because she thinks they have a lot in common." Ethan shrugged, sitting down next to her.

"Wow, I did call it. He is hot," Anna's excited voice came through as soon as Ethan got into the range of the camera. "Hello, there!"

"Hi, Anna." Ethan smiled at the other woman.

"That is a very bad idea," Sarah lamented and Ethan gave her a look that told her that he was very well aware of that.

"Are we there?" Claudia inquired through the speaker of the phone.

"Yes, we are there," Ethan told her, placing the phone next to the computer. "Claudia, this is Anna. Anna, this is Claudia. And, just for God's sake, remember that Max is sleeping here."

And with that an endless conversation had started between the two women who had never met before.

"What is happening right now?" Sarah asked dumbfounded as she heard the two women chattering away about her and Ethan as if the two of them weren't even there.

"I'm not sure I want to know," Ethan shook his head. "Do you think the game's still on?"

"I don't know but I'm ready to find out."

They looked at each other then, simultaneously, they shot out of their seats and made their way to Sarah's room, leaving their friends to talk about them in private.

**TBC**

_Thanks for reading!_


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the long wait! Enjoy!
> 
> This chapter takes place around 3x08 "Lemons and Lemonade".

The last days of her suspension went by quickly. She kept herself busy first with the kids then by catching up with her friends and helping out at the vet clinic. It was nice and she actually felt ready to return to work.

She was so wrong!

Her first day back was hell. Everything she had worked for so hard in the last weeks seemed to disappear as she was standing face to face with her patient. She was horrified and the unexpected surfacing of the feeling was more terrifying than the feeling itself.

What if it would never go away?

The lifeless form of Ethan's patient popped up in her mind's eyes and she choked, stopping in her movements and leaning forward to steady herself against the punching bag.

It was mostly dark in the rec center – only Bud, the security guard was making his rounds. He had stepped in some time ago but, besides asking her to let him know when she left, he let her be.

After talking with Dr. Charles, Sarah did not feel like going home. She couldn't face a night alone at home without anything to do but dwell on her messed up feelings. And she didn't want to burden anybody else with her problems. It seemed a good idea to go to the rec center and do something.

And that was what she was doing. She took a deep breath to steady herself then straightened and started punching the bag once again.

"What are you doing?" Ethan's voice came from the shadows behind her, a voice which aimed to be amused, no doubt, but it was more subdued as usual. Of course, Ethan had an awful day as well.

She turned then shrugged, feeling somewhat sheepish at being caught.

"Relieving the stress of the day. It always works in the movies."

"Does it work for you?" A small smile tugged at his lips as he walked closer.

"No. But at least I'm getting too exhausted to care."

"Was it that bad?" His features became serious as concern ran through his eyes. Sarah turned to continue punching the bag.

"I couldn't go close enough to the patient to examine her." She was getting angry. At the situation… at herself…

"Give it time, Sarah."

"It's been three weeks already!"

"And you know fully well that's not quite enough time. Your anxiety won't go away from one day to the other." Sarah just kept hitting the bag. "Hey," Ethan put a hand on her shoulder to stop her, "look at me." Slowly, she did. "You're working through it. You'll get there. Step by step."

"Step by step." Sarah nodded. Ethan nodded with her.

"But until then, please, stop abusing that bag." Sarah laughed embarrassed. "Do you want me to teach you? This way the only thing you'll accomplish is to hurt your wrists."

"I've been going to your training for three weeks," Sarah looked at him reproachingly, "and only now are you willing to teach me how to hit something?"

"There is a time for everything."

"You're so full of shit, Buddha," Sarah smiled. "But I'm good, thanks. I'm really exhausted. I'll leave you to it."

Ethan nodded and reached for one of her hands to help her take off the gloves. It was silent in the room as he worked and when the gloves were in his hands, he looked at them for a long time. Sarah waited patiently, feeling that there was a gravity to the silence.

"I have PTSD," he finally broke the heavy silence and slowly lifted his eyes to look at Sarah. She was thrown off-kilter by that admission and felt a new-found respect rise in her chest towards the man who had done so much for her in the last couple of weeks. "You're not alone." He was struggling, too. He truly understood her. "You of all people should know that. People are dealing with some kind of crazy day after day and they manage… mostly."

"How do you do it?"

For a moment, he remained silent and Sarah thought that the conversation was over but, then, Ethan moved and sat down on the bench by the wall. Sarah followed him with her eyes but was unsure whether to move.

"I keep myself busy," he spoke up at last and his voice made Sarah start slowly. "I find something that's worth getting up for." Sarah sat down. "The patients, the kids, my family… on a good day, they give me so much. They help me move on. On a bad day, they are something to fall back on… something to remind me that life is good." Sarah nodded in understanding. "This was a bad day."

Another nod.

"Feeling helpless… that's the worst for me. To know that I'm not enough… that I am too late… that there are things beyond me which I can't control… to lose someone because of that. It suffocates me."

"Do you talk to someone?"

"I'm not big on talking," he gave her a rueful chuckle.

"You're doing great right now."

"I'm sorry for dumping it all on you. That wasn't my intention."

"Hey," she nudged him with her shoulder. "You deal with my shit, I deal with your shit."

"You know, your language starts to worry me."

"You have to deal with that, too."

"Deal," he said and Sarah recognized something in his eyes as he smiled at her: he knew that he was not alone, either. "Thank you." Ethan pulled her into a half hug.

"Right back at you," Sarah replied, resting her head against his. "Can I ask you something?" she asked after a long silence. She felt Ethan nod. "Is everything all right with April and you?"

"Why would you ask?" Ethan straightened and Sarah instantly felt bad.

"I'm sorry. It's none of my business," she mumbled.

"That's all right. It's just… I didn't think that it would be that obvious... or at least not something others would pick up on."

"It's not, or at least I think it's not. But we've spent a lot of time together lately and I've never seen her with you… here, for example."

"I've never brought her here before."

"Oh. You think she might not love what you do here?"

"On the contrary. She'd love this place. It is… It's just that… I always seem to be on the defensive with her. I always have something to apologize for… something about my views to reconsider. I don't want her to accept me because of one aspect of my life which happens to meet her approval. I am not just this place. You know, she just remarked today how different we are."

"You know what they say: opposites attract."

"I told her that. But do they really?"

"You are a good man, Ethan. She knows that, too. Maybe you're overthinking things."

"I'll keep that in mind," Ethan smiled. "Come on," he started to rise. "I'll take you home."

"Don't you want to stay?"

"If I had really wanted to punch a bag, I'd have stayed at home. I just needed," he hesitated for a moment, "this."

"Let's go then." Sarah stood, too, and, together, they went to find Bud.

They found the old man, sitting in the hall.

"Thank you for not kicking me out," Sarah gave him a grateful smile.

"Anything to put a smile on a young lady's face," Bud returned the smile. "Though, I suspect that I have nothing to do with you smiling again."

"Good night," instead of an answer, Sarah bid good-bye.

"Good night, Bud," Ethan put a friendly hand on his shoulder then followed Sarah.

"And good night to you, too."

* * *

The next morning, Ethan woke after a short but a peaceful night of sleep. April was sitting next to him in the bed already awake. He turned and burrowed his face into her side.

"You were out last night." He could hear the reproach in her voice. He sighed.

"I couldn't sleep. I had to get out."

"You could have woken me." The reproach had disappeared from her voice as he felt her hand caress his head. "I was worried."

"I'm sorry," he said sitting up.

"This wasn't the first time, either. I can hear you, you know. Punching that bag or going out for… whatever you're doing."

"Sorry, I didn't want to wake you."

"Stop saying 'sorry'. It's not about your disturbing my sleep. If something is bothering you, I want to help," she told him and he looked down at his hand she's just taken. He wanted to talk to her… to tell her everything he had told Sarah the night before. He looked up at her.

"I'm fine." But the words wouldn't come. "It's just the stress of the work."

She nodded and he felt really bad. He cleared his throat. "We should get going."

* * *

On Thursday, Sarah was walking down the ED, going through a file when she heard a familiar voice. She looked up and saw Claudia, talking with Maggie. "Claudia!" Sarah greeted the woman when she walked up to the pair. "What are you doing here? Is everything all right with the kids?" she asked, glancing down at Max in the stroller.

"Everything's fine. I was just trying to kidnap Ethan for a coffee. But, hey, what do you say I take you instead?"

"Oh," Sarah hesitated for a moment but when Maggie nodded for her to go, she smiled at Claudia. "All right. I was hoping to talk to you anyway."

"Great," Claudia smiled warmly.

"Just give me five. I'll grab my things."

They sat into a little café near the hospital and, for a while, the two women chatted about anything and everything while watching Max keeping himself occupied among the tables.

Claudia was such an easy person to be around, Sarah quickly found out. She wasn't one to shy from voicing her opinion but she had the ability to spice everything with humor. That surely took the edge from some of her comments. In fact, she seemed to be able to find the humor in everything. It made her a really entertaining company no matter the subject.

Sarah had a really good time getting to know the other woman.

"So, why are you not together again?" Claudia was not one to beat around the bush, either.

"Together with whom?" Sarah looked up at her confused, too preoccupied with Max who was handing him the napkins from the neighboring table one by one.

"Ethan, of course," Claudia scoffed. "You are so cute together."

"He's a good friend but I've never thought about him as something more." Not intentionally at least.

"But now you do," Claudia grinned.

"That's silly."

"But no less true."

"He's got a girlfriend." She stressed because that was a huge "no, no" for Sarah. She wouldn't even entertain the idea.

"Yeah, a very elusive girlfriend he never talks about… unlike you."

"Of course, he's talking about me. We all know each other."

"Now, you are just proving my point."

"Anyway," Sarah tried to steer the conversation away from the current topic. "I'm glad we met because I was meaning to talk to you about something."

"All right, talk away. But you're not off the hook yet."

"So… I have this really good friend… he teaches music in a music school. We've known each other for ever. And I told him about Brian and how crazy he is with the guitar. Anyway," she cleared her throat. "He'd be happy to listen to him and if Brian likes it – and if you agree, of course – he'd be happy to train him."

"It's really nice of you, Sarah, to think of Brian but I can't afford a private teacher."

"Oh, no," Sarah was quick to dismiss her worries. "He wouldn't do it for money. At least, not for yours. The school is funded by a board of singers, musicians… artists who have the means and the will to support real talent. They provide grants for talented children. It's not a school per say actually… it's more like the rec center. Just more exclusive. And they are good. Most of the students go on to art universities on grants. It's such a wonderful opportunity for Brian."

"It really is."

"I don't want to press you and I really don't want to overstep my boundaries here…" she babbled on as she reached into her bag. "I just wanted you to know about this opportunity. Here's his card. Give him a call any time. Charlie basically lives in the school. And he really got excited when I told him about Brian."

Claudia took the offered card and regarded it for a moment.

"I don't know how to thank you," she finally said.

"You don't have to. He is such a rare talent…" Sarah replied, putting Max onto her lap.

"It's not just that," Claudia shook her head. "You helped so much in the last couple of weeks. You and Ethan… I just…"

"Hey, it's all right. Actually, being with the kids helped me a lot, too. I'm going through a rather difficult time and looking after them helped me forget about that a little."

"I doubt you had time to think about anything else than what to do with them."

"True," Sarah smiled. "And I'm grateful for being allowed to do that."

"Come over for dinner some time. Let's say… tomorrow? What do you say?"

"Oh, I don't want to impose on you."

"You won't, I promise. I have to feed the kids anyway so it's really not a problem."

"Thank you but I've already got plans for Friday."

"Then on Saturday. Let's make it Saturday."

"All right. I'll be over on Saturday."

"Wonderful," Claudia clapped her hands excitedly and Max mirrored her movement with a happy giggle. Sarah laughed.

* * *

Sarah's Friday night plan involved her friends and lots of alcohol.

But before that, just like on Tuesday, she went to Ethan's training with the kids and felt stupid about her breakdown on Monday. Training with the kids was more therapeutic than hitting a bag in the dark alone.

"Going out?" Ethan asked as she emerged from the changing room, Brian standing next to him.

"Where are you going?" Brian immediately piped up.

"I'm meeting some friends."

"Can I come, too?" he asked excitedly and the adults smiled.

"Sorry, Brian," Sarah told him. "It's adults only."

"That sounds boring." The boy sulked which only made the smiles on the others' faces widen.

"You know what? You're absolutely right," Sarah agreed. "I'll arrange something for next time, okay? Just to make it more fun."

"Really?"

"Really." She nodded.

"Can Ethan come, too? And mom? Dylan?"

"That's the plan. If they want to come," Sarah added, looking up at Ethan who gave her a small nod.

"Cool," Brian concluded. "I hope it wouldn't be too boring today."

"Me, too, Brian. Me too."

"Have fun," Ethan called after her after she had bid good-bye.

Actually, Sarah was counting on her night being anything but boring.

She met the gang in a smoky rock bar. It wasn't anything fancy just a really small basement with some old furniture and a jukebox. The room had been already loud when Sarah arrived, people milling around the small space. It seemed that in spite of the small group gathered around the tables, everybody knew everybody.

The atmosphere was friendly – if somewhat boisterous – and yet, Sarah couldn't help pressing through the crowd apprehensively. Step by step, she reminded herself.

Well, this was a huge step...

Despite her sincere anticipation of the night, she took her seat among her friends feeling somewhat uncomfortable.

She was relieved when Haley appeared by the table with a tray of shot glasses. She really needed a drink.

"All right, girl," Haley looked at Sarah pointedly. "It's time to get the old Sarah out to play. This goody two shoes won't cut it for the night."

"Haley…" Charlie looked at her friend with reproach but Sarah cut her off.

"Just someone take me home, please," Sarah told them before reaching for one of the glasses with the intent to get wasted.

"I told Johnny that he is to be the responsible drinker today… and probably Charlie, too." Haley added. "Paul most likely will get drunk before us which is impressive given his size."

"I aim to impress," the man grinned raising his glass.

"Amen to that," Anna added before clinging their glasses and downing their first round.

"While we are all sober," Sarah started as soon as she had slapped her empty glass on the table, "I want to pitch an idea to you. You know about the kids I babysat… So, I want them to meet you. Well, I actually thought about getting together with their mom and Ethan but Brian was so cute when we talked about it today that I thought why not? The kids are fun, too. So, what do you say?"

"I want to meet Ethan," Haley raised her hand enthusiastically. Johnny gave her a raised eyebrow but she just shrugged unabashed. "What? I heard that he is sexy as hell."

At that, all eyes turned to Sarah… well, all the eyes of her male companions.

"It wasn't me." She sounded defensive. "Though… he is easy on the eyes."

"Easy on the eyes," Anna practically squealed. "That's the understatement of the year."

"I don't think I want to meet this Ethan," Paul frowned at the enthusiasm of his girlfriend.

"I think it is a lovely idea," Charlie supplied, eyeing Sarah with a smirk. She really hoped she was not blushing.

"You're completely missing my point," she tried to stir the conversation back to its original topic.

"I thought I was making a point," Haley scoffed.

"Great!" Sarah pointedly ignored her. "So, everyone's in." There was nodding all around the table. "Topic closed. Next round is on me." And with that, she shot out of her seat.

"They are just excited," Johnny appeared next to her by the bar. Sarah gave her a small smile. "But it makes you uncomfortable," he observed.

"You remember the last time they got so excited?" Sarah turned to him. "I'm not going down that road again."

"Andy was a jerk," Johnny nodded, referring to Anna's twin brother. And that was the understatement of the year, Sarah thought bitterly. "But don't let his bad decisions determine your own life." But how could she not? They were her bad decisions, too. And all the rest that followed. All the rest that formed her into the woman she was today.

"You sound like a fortune cookie," she remarked ruefully, relieved that their order arrived.

"And you tend to think too much," he nudged her shoulder. "Just keep that in mind."

Sarah tried really hard not to ponder the implications of that advice, even more so that she had given the same one to Ethan earlier that week.

Well, after that short glitch, the night actually turned out really enjoyable. They talked, they laughed… and they drank. They even ran into some of Haley's work buddies from the tattoo parlor she was working in and Sarah also got introduced to Larry, Jerry, Terry... or whoever... the large man behind the bar with the loud laughter. (He was also the owner of the place.) Sarah found him a nice man but, later, she couldn't be sure. Events seemed to start to blur after a while. Anyway, he must be okay if the others kept frequenting his place.

In another lull in the night, Sarah found herself sitting by the table with Anna.

"This is my last season," Anna supplied matter-of-factly, seemingly out of the blue. Sarah, feeling a little numb herself, regarded her for a moment before noticing that her nonchalance was only a façade. It was not surprising: dancing was her life.

"Want to talk about it? Did something happen?"

"Not much to talk about," Anna shrugged. "And there is nothing special… except that I met that goofball over there," she pointed at Paul who was currently at the bar talking animatedly with the bartender as he poured their drinks. "He is great, you know. So fucking patient with me."

"I really like him," Sarah nodded.

"I gave everything to ballet. And I loved it. But it's not been the same for some time. I don't want to see the day when I got passed over for a role because I got old. I want to stop while I'm on top. And I want to have his babies," she added as an afterthought.

"What?"

"Oh, was I talking aloud?" she wondered a little dazed by the consumed alcohol.

"Oh-o," Haley appeared, holding three shot glasses. "That's the look she gets when she's thinking about making babies. Is she thinking about making babies?" she turned to Sarah.

"Yup," she nodded, accepting one of the glasses.

"Crazy, isn't it?" Anna asked, taking a glass herself.

"Yeah," Haley drawled amused. "It's kind of concerning how soldier boy turned your brain into a mush."

"Are you thinking about it?" Sarah turned to Haley.

"Me? No. God, no. Johnny's just returned. I want to spend some time with him before we even start thinking about turning our life upside down. What about you?" she shot the question back at Sarah.

"Me? No. I've never been good with kids anyway."

"I heard otherwise," Anna gave her a bemused look. "I heard the kids had a terrific time with you."

"And they weren't the only ones," Haley added. "But on that note, I think we should play Straight Face meet Spin the Bottle."

"What?" Sarah frowned, trying really hard to make sense of the words and follow the conversation.

"You know," Anna started, apparently the prospect of the game making her really excited. Haley had already disappeared to round up the others. "You spin the bottle then whoever's on the other end, you have to come up with the stupidest things to talk dirty to them. Whoever laughs out, drinks."

Sarah suspected there was a lot of drinking involved in that game.

"What happened to Have I Never Ever?" She asked then frowned. "No, wait, that didn't sound right. Ever I Have Never? Never Ever Have I Ever?"

Anna was laughing so hard, she slipped off of her seat.

Actually, that was the last thing Sarah remembered from the night.

* * *

The next thing she remembered was waking up to a splitting headache, a dry throat… and a foot in her face.

As it turned out (right after about half an hour when Sarah could finally bring herself to crack an eye open and another 15 minutes to get herself to leave the bed), Charlie – as the sole responsible drinker (because Johnny decided he wanted in the fun, too) – had decided to dump everybody at the Sarah's apartment. As it also turned out that she was lying in her bed sandwiched between Haley and Anna. It was Anna's foot that had almost ended up in her mouth.

She groaned as she sat up in bed, grabbing her head as she waited for the world to tilt back to its place. When she felt steady enough, she went in search of her phone to call Charlie. She had actually walked right past him about three times before she found her phone. The boys were camping out in her living room, she realized as Charlie stood in front of her with an annoyingly bemused look.

It was obvious that he was finding the situation hilarious.

She wanted to kick him just to make him feel her pain.

Man, she would never drink again!

After a shower and two Advil, she actually felt human again so she decided not to ditch her work at the vet clinic.

After making sure that she ate and drank enough, Charlie dropped her off at the clinic, promising to check on her later.

At the vet clinic, Steve was similarly amused by the turn of events but, to his credit, he stopped teasing her as soon as Dylan appeared in the exam room. Apparently, it had been his first day as Steve's assistant... or something. Sarah was astonished.

But, of course, Steve would do something like that.

And, of course, it was a busy day, too.

So, by the time Steve drove her home after 2 p.m., she was ready to collapse. She walked past the boys, who were silently drinking coffee, giving them a small wave, then went to her bedroom to find Anna and Haley still sleeping in her bed. She didn't have the energy to feel surprised by that so she just burrowed herself between the two women and fell asleep.

* * *

"Sarah!" Brian greeted her enthusiastically, throwing his arms around her midriff as soon as he'd opened the door when Sarah arrived to the Garnetts' place a couple of hours later.

"Hey, there," Sarah laughed, trying to ignore the slight throb in her head that persisted throughout the day.

"Guess what?" he looked up at her still clutching her.

"What?"

"I'm going to a music school on Monday and I'll show them how I play and if I'm really good, they'll teach me to be better!"

"You'll be fantastic," Sarah stroked her dark curls.

"Brian," came a voice then which Sarah did not expect to hear. "Let Sarah in and close the door."

"Ethan," Sarah greeted the man as Brian let her go.

"Hey, Sarah," the man greeted her before turning back to Brian. "Go, help your mother." And the boy promptly ran away. "He's really excited to have you here."

"I'm excited to be here, too," she admitted, getting out of her coat.

"You don't look so good," he remarked, eyeing her suspiciously. "Are you hungover?" he asked in a low voice, leaning closer to her with a bemused expression.

"Shut up," Sarah couldn't help the small smile tugging at her lips.

"Guess the night hadn't been so boring after all."

"You don't know the half of it."

"Wouldn't it be interesting?"

"I bet you'd find so. But that reminds me," she continued in a lauder voice as they joined the others in the kitchen.

"It's so good to have you here," Claudia interrupted her, though, as she enveloped Sarah into a quick hug before returning to the stove.

"Thank you for inviting me," Sarah returned. "Where is April?"

"She's working late," Ethan offered as Claudia scoffed in the background not even bothering to hide it. "But she says hi to everyone. And we interrupted you earlier so…"

"Oh. Yes. I managed to arrange that thing we talked about," she turned to Brian who was taking some plates from his mother.

"Really?"

Sarah nodded. "We are still not agreed on the location but all the others are in. But you have to ask your mom first."

"I'm afraid to ask what you're talking about," Claudia declared turning off the stove.

"Can we meet Sarah's friends?" Brian asked turning back to Claudia as Dylan gently pushed him towards the dining table.

"Oh," Claudia looked at Sarah.

"I would like you to meet my friends and I promised Brian that they can all come."

"That sounds fun," Claudia considered it. "Adult time is always fun."

"We will be there," Brian pointed out, setting the table with Dylan.

"But it's not a bunch of parents meeting because of the simple fact that they all have kids and feeling compelled to talk about them all the time?" Claudia felt the need to clarify. "I love you, guys," she added, turning to the boys.

"No," Sarah smiled.

"Then I'm all in."

"Great. We talked about the weekend two weeks from now seeing that we have another engagement next weekend," Sarah made a vague gesture towards Ethan. "Is it good for you?"

"We'll return to the 'we' in your previous sentence, but for now, count us in," Claudia grinned.

"And you?" Sarah turned to Ethan. "Does it work for you and April?"

"I don't see why not. I'm looking forward to it."

"Will Dr. Colton be there?"

The question coming from Claudia caught Sarah momentarily by surprise but she nodded.

"Great! So, Sarah, tell me about this Steve guy." Sarah could see Ethan raise an eyebrow. "I mean," Claudia cleared her throat, "he is currently employing my son so…"

"Well, he is Anna's brother."

"Really?"

"We didn't really hang out together but when I went to med school, I ran into him. He was giving lectures. I was going through a difficult time then and he helped a lot. He is a good guy. Dylan's in good hands."

"He is pretty cool," Dylan spoke up.

Time flew by after that as dinner was spent with excited chatter on the kids' part – even Dylan sharing some stories – and friendly conversation on that of the adults. Ethan watched with a fond smile as Sarah was trying to eat with Max in her lap as the little guy decided that that was where he wanted to eat.

It was astonishing how different the woman sitting across the table was from the one in the hospital. She was still struggling in the hospital but outside it, she was making great progress. In the last month, she'd been gradually opening up and it was enchanting to see. Her sincere laugh was just as charming as she was talking with Brian catching him up on Dr. Charles' progress in the MCU or her slightly disheveled look after a night spent with her friends. And he suspected that it was just the key: her friends whether the old ones she was just rekindling her relationship with or her new ones she was so willing to build a relationship with.

He was pulled out of his thoughts when his phone began to ring. It was April so he left the table and the heated discussion of the usual Iron Man vs. Captain America debate.

His conversation with April left him somewhat annoyed. She had cited working late as an excuse for her passing on the invitation of Claudia, yet she was calling just after 7 o'clock to ask when he was getting home. They weren't even living together! And even if they were: she had her engagement and he had his. They could mutually respect that, right?

He returned to the table to Brian's final declaration that Iron Man was the coolest Avenger with which neither Sarah nor Claudia seemed to agree. He had a feeling that neither of the women was thinking along the line of 'coolest'… more like the 'hottest', Claudia vehemently pleading the case of Captain America while Sarah had thrown Thor into the mix somewhere along the debate.

They broke table after agreeing to disagreeing and when bath-time was mentioned, Max practically pulled Sarah into the bathroom with him.

This was the point when Dylan decided that he had been sociable enough so he disappeared into his room, leaving his brother to help clean up after dinner.

They made a quick job of it and by the time Max ran into the living room butt naked and still wet, they had already settled into an excited conversation about Brian's audition on Monday. Brian actually managed to rope him into going with him and Claudia. Not as if Ethan had minded.

Soon enough, everything settled down and the adults found themselves lounging in the living room.

"So," Sarah started. "How did you two meet?"

"Actually, we grew up together," Ethan smiled lovingly at the other woman. "I met Max in the Army. I brought him home on our first leave."

"He introduced us and the rest is history."

"And by that she means that by the next weekend she was pregnant."

"Best week of my life." Claudia winked at Sarah who actually giggled.

"Not the impression I got when you called me six weeks later," Ethan pointed out.

"Whatever," Claudia shrugged. "We were good together," she remembered with a fond smile.

"That you were," Ethan agreed and pressed a kiss on her forehead. That was when his phone buzzed, signaling a message. It was April again, saying that she was at his place. He sighed then looked at the others. "I have to go. Thanks for dinner," he kissed Claudia on the cheek. "Next time, I'll cook."

"I'll keep you to that."

"See you next week," he waved to Sarah then left.

After the door closed behind the man, the two women remained silent only for a beat before Claudia spoke up.

"I don't like it," she stated simply.

"What?"

"What's happening to him," she elaborated. "Whoever this April woman is, she's making Ethan act like he's not himself."

"Maybe it's still new for them. They are still figuring themselves out," Sarah shrugged contemplatively.

"Honey, if half a year is not enough for them to figure themselves out, it's a lost cause. I don't understand why he's trying so hard to bend backwards for her when she's definitely not doing the same for him."

"You can't fault him for trying. April is a nice woman. He wants it to work."

"Well, I don't know her but he could definitely do better."

**TBC**

_Thank you for reading! And, kids, remember to drink responsibly!_


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow, that was a difficult chapter to write. Thanks for your patience and enjoy!
> 
> This chapter takes place around 3x09 "On Shaky Ground".

Monday afternoon, Brian's excitement reached its peak and it was difficult for the adults not to be affected by it. They were on their way to the music school of Sarah's friend.

When they got there, Brian was duly impressed by the building with the state-of-the-art interior but Ethan suspected that had they gone into a shed, he would have not known the difference.

They were directed towards a room which looked like a studio with a door and a window to another one where two men were playing the guitar. To Ethan's surprise, one of the men had a familiar face. Paul Wigotsky. He knew the man from his time in the Navy when he was still in active duty. He was a brilliant electrical engineer but had a tendency to downplay his intelligence. He was a lovable guy.

The other man looked somewhat younger and darker in complexion with about the same height as Paul. He must be Charlie, he thought. Sarah spoke really highly of him. Well, if anything, his guitar playing was… great. As far as he could tell.

Either way, Brian had stuck to the glass wall – literally – his hands pressed against it, his features belying his utmost wonder at the two men's playing. They played one last song – which made Brian squeal with delight – before packing up. Well, Paul packed up. The other man exited the room to meet them.

"I know that song!" Brian exclaimed excitedly as soon as the man opened the door and Claudia pulled him against her front just to reign in his excitement a little. "I can play it, too."

"Really?" Charlie raised an eyebrow. The boy nodded.

"We played it with Sarah."

"Of course, you did," the man laughed. "Did she make you play all the Led Zeppelin songs?"

"Nah, just this one. It was in Thor: Ragnarok."

"Kids." The man shook his head with a laugh. "So, you are Brian." He offered a hand to the awestruck boy. The boy shook his hand with a toothy grin. "Charlie Connor. Nice to meet you. Ma'am," he turned to Claudia and shook her hand, too.

"Claudia, please," she said.

"Charlie." He, then, turned to Ethan but before he could have offered a hand to him in introduction, Paul stepped out of the other room.

"Ethan Choi," Paul cried exuberantly. "What the heck are you doing here?"

"Hey, man," Ethan greeted him with a quick half-hug. "I didn't know you are in Chicago."

"You know how it is… I met this girl…"

"I hear you," Ethan laughed.

"Hey there, Claudia," he waved to the woman as if they were old friends. "Nice to see you in the flesh."

"Nice to see you dressed up," Claudia countered with an innocent smile and a wave of her own.

It downed on Ethan then: Paul was Anna's boyfriend. And it seemed Anna and Claudia had kept in touch.

Paul just grinned before turning to Brian.

"And you're Sarah's wonder boy. Can't wait to hear what you can do."

"Then let's get to it," Charlie clapped his hands and promptly ushered Brian into the room he had just exited with Paul.

"He's not yours, right?" Paul asked as the three of them turned towards the window.

"What gave that away?"

"What can I say? I'm a keen observer," Paul shrugged.

Ethan shook his head. The man hadn't changed a bit since they last met.

"Dude," Paul spoke up suddenly again and turned to Ethan. "You are the hot guy all the girls are gushing about."

"I didn't know I'm such a hot topic." Ethan couldn't quite decide whether the fact was amusing or disturbing.

"Literally, man. I mean last week I was going around the house butt naked and my girlfriend was sitting in front of the computer talking about you with a chick she'd never even met. It makes a guy wonder, you know…"

"Well, I haven't been called a chick in a while," Claudia pondered with a smile.

"He just doesn't know any sophisticated word to refer to a woman," Ethan deadpanned.

"Shut u… oh, wow," Paul couldn't finish his sentence as the others began to play in the adjacent room. "Kid wasn't kidding. He can play that song."

As it was, Brian impressed everyone and Ethan could see Claudia burst with pride.

"I want the kid," Charlie came out of the room, ushering Brian in front of him. "Please, say yes," he looked at Claudia with pleading eyes. Ethan had to smile at the way she was trying not to grin like a fool. She failed at last but nodded enthusiastically. Brian ran into her arms.

"Thank you," she mouthed to the man.

"Thank you," Charlie countered.

* * *

Tuesday started off as usual. April had stayed the night and it was actually nice to prepare for the day together.

After finishing with his second patient of the day (nothing serious, thank God), Ethan spotted Sarah down in the ED.

"Guess what?" he stopped next to her, leaning against the counter of the nurses' station. She was scrolling on her tablet.

"What?" There was an adorable smile tugging at her lips as she looked up at him. Instead of concentrating on that, he watched April walk by. She hadn't even noticed him. He turned back to Sarah.

"I went with Brian and Claudia to that music school and I ran into an old Navy buddy."

"Really?"

"It turns out he is Anna's boyfriend."

"Are you kidding? You know Paul?"

"We served a tour together. He's a good guy."

"Kind of a goofball, though. But that's Anna's type."

"I can imagine that. Hey, are we still up for the fundraiser?" Ethan asked, changing the topic.

"If you're still willing to come. You don't have to," she was quick to add.

"Of course, I am," Ethan scoffed. "I've already had my tux."

"Ready to go, Dr. Reese?" Dr. Charles walked up to them with his coat on.

Sarah reached for the coat Ethan had just noticed lying next to her.

"Going out?" he asked.

"Yes," was the curt reply and Ethan raised an eyebrow at that. "I'll tell you later."

"All right. Have fun!" And with that the duo left.

It was about two hours later that Barry brought in a girl with possible overdose. His day went downhills from there and ended up sitting in the car with an indignant April, driving home from a homeless camp.

"You're angry at me," April stated in the car as they were driving to her place. Her own voice sounded tense.

"I'm not angry, April," Ethan glanced at her. "But you did go behind my back."

"So, you are angry at me."

"No. But I do feel offended by the way you acted."

"I did what I thought was right."

"You don't really let me forget that," he muttered irritated. "But it wasn't your call. I was the attending of that girl."

"You are pulling your doctor card, really?" Her voice hitched in disbelief.

For a moment, he looked at her stunned, then nodded. "Yes. In the hospital, I am the doctor and you went directly against my will."

"I see."

"April, just because we're seeing each other, it doesn't mean that you can go against my decision in the ED whenever you think that it is the right thing to do. It doesn't work that way."

"I do not…"

"Yeah, right…" Ethan sighed as he pulled up in front of April's apartment building. "Look, I'm tired. We'll talk tomorrow."

"I won't change my mind about it," she let him know as she unbuckled her seatbelt.

"I didn't expect you to," Ethan shook his head.

He drew into traffic happy that the day was almost over. At home, though, in spite of his exhaustion, when he saw that Sarah had called her earlier that day, he dialed her number and smiled when she answered. It was so refreshing listening to her happy chatter. Apparently, Dr. Charles had taken her to Cook County Jail in an attempt to make her face her fears and try to handle them in a controlled environment. Exposure therapy, she said. He could hear it in her voice that it had been a positive experience for her and, he hoped, a significant step in dealing with her anxiety.

He went to bed with a smile, really happy for his friend.

* * *

When Sarah opened her door Saturday afternoon, Ethan had to force his brain to work again. She was so breathtaking that he simply stood frozen for a couple of long seconds.

She was such an unexpected sight (not that he knew exactly what he had expected) in a long evening gown which was a mesmerizing shade of green. It had a straight neckline from shoulder to shoulder and it hugged her hips perfectly only sweeping out from around the knees. He was sure that there was a name for that but it really didn't matter while it accentuated Sarah's hips so perfectly.

His eyes suddenly snapped up to look into Sarah's eyes in an attempt to divert his thoughts from where they were going but it turned out to be a futile attempt. His eyes actually widened at how different she looked. Her hair was pulled into a loose bun which lay a little bit to the side at the nape of her neck and did not attempt to tame her curls. The large earrings were somewhat strange on her but they complemented the simple dress nicely. Just like her make-up which was way darker than she used to wear. This all gave her such a distinguished look. And her stance just underlined it even more. Her straight back and head held high screamed proud confidence.

Only her eyes gave away her discomfort and he couldn't help but gave her a small smile.

"You look beautiful, Sarah," he complimented her in a gentle tone.

Sarah nodded tersely and stepped away from the door to let him in.

"Just give me a second and I'm ready to go," she said before turning her back on him and going towards her room.

"Oh, woah!" His surprised exclamation stopped her, though, and she turned back to him with obvious concern.

"What is it?"

"Nothing," Ethan struggled for words. "It's just… May I?"

Sarah should really stop meddling with his cognitive functions.

It took a while for Sarah to understand what Ethan wanted to do. "Oh," she breathed, then slowly turned around.

Ethan stood behind her mesmerized.

The dress left Sarah's back completely exposed and what he saw there made him blink in surprise.

Sarah had a tattoo.

It started – five parallel lines, staff lines – at the back of her left hip and ran towards the right where it curved upward and went left again not quite reaching the starting point where it curved again and repeated its journey until, at the top of her spine, it ended with a simple upward curve. It looked like a road disappearing in the distance. The notes on the lines seemed disjointed, hanging to lines by a thread with the stems sticking out in different directions, giving the whole picture a floating feeling.

"It's beautiful," he heard himself saying, his fingers itching to touch it.

"Thank you." Sarah turned around.

"What is it?"

"The first notes of my favorite song." Ethan nodded, getting the feeling that Sarah did not want to talk more about it. "I like showing it off to my mother. She hates it."

This defiant side of her still surprised him.

Ethan wasn't really a stranger to formal events but this one turned out to be a surreal one. All evening on the way to the hotel, Sarah was downright miserable but as soon as they stepped into the building it was as if she had formed into a completely other person.

At times, she was ready to struck up such an easy conversation with some random people he had never thought her capable of. Small talk was not her forte. He was wrong it seemed. However, it all seemed too theatrical. Her voice was warm and pleasant but Ethan knew her smile was fake. Other times she was downright mean. It seemed not everybody was worth the effort. Some people only got a disinterested frown and a curt dismissal as Sarah turned away to continue her round in the crowd. Ethan had a feeling that she wanted to be over with it as soon as possible.

He couldn't blame her. It wasn't the most exciting event of the year.

"All right," Ethan started when, after a while, he grabbed her elbow and gently pulled her towards the bar. "Who are you and what did you do with Sarah?" he asked in a low voice close to her ear as they navigated the well-dressed crowd.

"What do you mean?"

"Come on," Ethan smiled. "The easy conversations, the frowns you don't bother to hide… You were downright rude to that old man over there."

"Oh, sorry. I guess it's a knee-jerk reaction to all this bullshit." Ethan raised an eyebrow. "I came to learn that it is easier if you go with the flow. If nothing else, time goes faster that way. So, it is a big fake smile, some amused giggles and enthusiastic nodding and you're left alone. But, of course, there are those jerks who wipe that smile right off of my face. Like that gross old man. He's a self-entitled freak who'd been trying to crop a feel ever since I hit puberty."

"We can leave whenever you want."

"Oh, the worst is yet to come," Sarah told her as her fake smile made its re-appearance.

"Sarah," a woman walked up to them. At first glance, Ethan would not have known that she was Sarah's mother. She was shorter than Sarah but more heavyset. Only her curly hair reminded him of the younger woman but it was also lighter in hue, closer to red than brown. The frown on his friend's face, though, gave away their relation without a doubt. "Glad you showed up at last." Well, despite her smaller stature, she commanded attention all right. "This running late act is getting old, don't you think?"

"Mother," was all Sarah said before they exchanged a really awkward looking hug.

"At least you seem to have developed some taste in clothing," the woman remarked dryly as she ran her eyes over Sarah in a critical fashion. "You gained some weight since I last saw you."

"It was just after I graduated," Sarah remarked bitterly. "Two years ago. Time flies fast, doesn't it?"

"You don't have to tell me." The woman sighed theatrically. "I'm so busy with my associates, most of the time I don't know what day it is. Thank goodness for personal assistants. I actually pay one of them to remind me to eat."

Ethan was quite sure that was not where Sarah had been heading.

"You sure don't pay them to remind you of me."

"Oh, honey. That's why you should come to these events more often… so we can spend some time together."

"Right." Sarah's nod was tense and Ethan could see something change in her expression and he didn't like it one bit. She reached for his arm and sneaked hers around it. He could feel the subtle trembling. "Mother, this is Dr. Ethan Choi. Ethan, this is my mother, Margarethe Reese."

"Ma'am."

"Nice to meet you, Mr. Choi."

"It's Doctor," Sarah correctly her bluntly and the woman nodded.

"Right." And with that, Ethan had the feeling that he'd been dismissed completely. "Come on, dear. I want you to meet Scott. It was such a long time ago that you saw each other."

"There is a reason for that," Sarah told her but she was apparently ignored as her mother led her away.

Ethan knew when he was ignored and Sarah's mother pulling her daughter from his side was such a moment. So he hang back waiting for Sarah to give him a clue as of what to do. There was a reason, after all, for her wanting company for this event and Ethan suspected that this Scott guy might have been that reason.

So he watched from the background.

The guy himself was rather nondescript and Ethan wouldn't have thought twice about him had his smile did not make him stop. The smile he gave to Sarah's mother wasn't sincere, he could tell from this distance but that was all right, Sarah had hardly had a sincere smile since the evening started. The smile he gave to Sarah, however, made his skin crawl. It was so condescending that it took Ethan all his willpower not go there and wipe that haughty look from his face. What a douche. What stopped him was Sarah's stance. It seemed that she was having everything under control so he stepped back for the time-being.

He watched as Sarah's mother left with an awfully friendly smile to the guy and a warning look to Sarah. The conversation, if it was possible at all, turned even more tense after the couple was left alone. The guy was obviously invading Sarah's personal space but Sarah was unwilling to back down. Their conversation was hushed but quickly turned heated which ended up with the guy grabbing Sarah's upper arm. It made Ethan move without a second thought. He'd only made a couple of steps though when Sarah, with a forceful tug, freed her arm from the grip. Slowly, he stopped as, this time, it was Sarah who invaded the man's personal space and, from the looks of it, it wasn't pretty what she had to say to him.

Ethan didn't know the history of those two – and obviously there was one – but he suspected that Sarah needed this conversation.

When she was done, she turned on her heels and left the man with determined steps.

He caught her by the bar holding onto an empty shot glass. Her hands were shaking.

"Are you all right?" he asked in a gentle tone.

"I will be." She gave him a tense nod. "Thank you."

"For what?"

"For watching my back."

He was just about to answer when her mother strode up to them with a clearly displeased look.

"What is the problem with you?" She started in a disapproving tone. "Scott is a perfect catch and he is single. You left him once. Don't make the same mistake twice."

"That was the best decision of my life," Sarah countered defiantly.

"Are you hearing yourself, Sarah? He is an intelligent young man with great potential in business."

"And that is all which matters, isn't it, mother? The perfect young man for your perfect little world."

"He really cares for you still."

"All he ever cared for was your money. And you know that."

"Is it so bad that I want to secure your future? If you are not willing to, he will make sure that my company stays in business." It was the first time that Ethan saw genuine concern on the older woman's face and it made him wonder whether the woman was really just misguided. But Sarah's next sentence made his blood run cold.

"He is a sick asshole, mother, who abused me for years."

It seemed that it made the other woman stop, too, as there was a beat of stunned silence. "You never told me that."

"You never listened," Sarah answered in a low voice and a small shake of her head. "Excuse me." And with that she left.

Ethan suspected that he was looking much like Margarethe, his mind still working to process that last bit of information. He couldn't believe it. He didn't want to believe it.

"Excuse me, ma'am," he finally managed to croak then quickly left the woman to her thoughts.

He found Sarah in the garden in front of the building, sitting on a bench, hugging herself.

It broke his heart when she flinched as he wrapped his jacket over her shoulders but watched relieved as she pulled it tighter around herself with a grateful look. Without a word, he sat down next to her and took a deep breath before speaking up in a low, tentative voice.

"Did he hit you?" Just the thought of it made his skin crawl.

Sarah let out a rueful chuckle.

"He knew me better than that. He only had the chance to hit me once… I was out of the door before he could've come up with an excuse for raising his hand, no matter what a mess he had made of me." There was a silence after at. It was hard to find the words. "He broke me," Sarah continued after a long while. "I'd spent my life standing up against my mother… I'd never taken any shit from her. But he… He did what my mother could not… I'm so ashamed…"

"I'm proud of you," Ethan told her simply. Frankly, that was the only thing he could think of… apart from going back inside and strangling that bastard. "For standing your ground back in there."

"That's the exposure therapy for you in the works." Another rueful smile.

"You are so much stronger than you give credit to yourself."

Sarah gave him a grateful smile but he wasn't sure that she believed him.

"Come on," she stood up suddenly. "I don't want to go back."

"Do you have something in mind?"

"I have some pent-up tension to relieve."

"You want to go boxing? Now?"

Sarah actually laughed at that. It was so good to hear. "No, I leave that to you. I have another idea."

"All right, lead the way." He felt, at the moment, that he'd go to the end of the world with her just to make her feel better.

He didn't have to go that far.

They ended up in front of the music school where he had been with Brian on Monday but, instead of going into the building, they made there way down a row of stairs into the basement.

"What's this place? It's like a college bar." Ethan looked around in the colorful crowd. It felt like deceivingly like a college bar but the people around him were from all ages. He guessed that some of the kids were actually there with their parents.

"It is not. It belongs to the music school. On Fridays and Saturdays, the students have the opportunity to perform in front of an audience. Sometime it's classical," she turned back to him with a smile as they made their way through the crowd, "sometimes it's not. This is real talent here."

"Talent?" he couldn't help but ask back as a kid was growling in the background. "The kid's growling like a dog fighting."

"He is," she gave him another smile, this time, turning fully around and stopping in front of him. "And it takes a lot of work to make those sounds, too. The kid's actually impressive."

"If you say so," Ethan allowed with a smile.

They stopped then and listened to the performance until it came to an end not long after. There was some shuffling on the stage which allowed them a little time to talk without shouting so they went in search of some drinks.

"So, what's your poison?" Ethan started with laugh in his voice as he looked through the assortment of non-alcoholic beverages on the table. The place was kid friendly all right.

"I'll take the apple juice, thanks."

There was some cracking in the sound system as he handed Sarah her drink and they turned to the stage to see Charlie standing with a group of boys around college age.

"Hey there," he started. "So, these guys here," he indicated the boys around him, "they wanted to do a Led Zeppelin tribute but, unfortunately, their lead guitarist is lying at home sick. So, I was to step in." There was a roar of applause in the audience, obviously his students getting excited about their teacher's playing but Charlie quieted them. "But, I've just realized that I can do better than that. Hey, Sarah," he waved out into the audience as if just noticing her, however, his eyes were almost impish.  _Oh, I know where this is going_ , Ethan could distinctly hear her mutter into her drink.

"So," Charlie continued. "Here's the thing: you see that lovely – and really overdressed – lady over there? Hey, there. Looking good, by the way. She's you girl. I tell you, if it comes to Led Zeppelin, there is no one who can play it better than her. So, what do you say, girl? Give these boys the time of their lives?"

There was an expectant silence in which Ethan considered that Charlie might have just gone too far putting Sarah on the spot like that but it only took Sarah a couple of moments to make up her mind.

"What the hell," Ethan heard her mutter. "I came to relieve tension after all." And with that, she went to join the band on stage. The crowd cheered but Ethan was suddenly too occupied by deciphering the look on Charlie's face. There was pure adoration in the man's eyes – he could not find another word to describe it – and it made him alarmingly uneasy.

He quickly went to find a seat to watch the performance which turned out to be brilliant. The kid behind the mic had some serious pipes on him and Sarah was simply amazing. It was clear that she loved playing. She looked so unguarded up there.

It was an all-new layer to Sarah and he found himself fal… fascinated by her.

More and more keenly he felt that he was in trouble.

The night was cold but they walked slowly to Ethan's car later that night. Sarah was practically glowing and the incident with that Scott guy and her mother seemed far away.

"You were wonderful tonight," Ethan spoke up. "You knocked those boys right off of their feet."

"I did, didn't I?" Sarah's laugh was warming in the cold street. "It was fun. I haven't done it in a long time… ditching my mother to do something I know she'd disapprove. And I know that I'm an adult but it still feels good. I feel good."

"I bet she'd be suitably scandalized," Ethan laughed with her, then they fell back into companionable silence.

"It's 'Stairway to Heaven'," Sarah broke the silence after a while. "The song on my back. I had it made to remind me of the woman I want to be… of the woman I vowed never to become."

"Your mother…"

"She is all about money… about possessing things… people. I realized that really soon. I always had everything. She'd never spared any money to give me everything. She thought that was what made her a good mother. But she could really never love me. All she had was expectations of me… Expectations I could not, then would not meet. She had everything, Ethan. And nothing was ever enough. Not even me. I used to wonder whether it was because my father had left us… But in the end, it doesn't really matter. She is a selfish person and I've never wanted to become like her. I guess that's the main reason I became a doctor. Not the best of reasons but I wanted to help people…"

"That's the best reason there is."

"Thank you for coming with me tonight. It really helped a lot."

"Any time, Sarah. Any time," he told her, pulling her into his side.

**TBC**

_Thanks for reading!_


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The last part takes place during 3x10 "Down by Law".
> 
> Sorry for the delay, guys. I hope it was worth the wait. I think there one more chapter to go. Enjoy!

On Monday, Sarah was still under the influence of the events on Saturday but to her surprise, she felt lighter. She told her mother the truth and gave Scott a piece of her mind, something she should have done a long time ago. And it also felt good to share this part of her past with someone. She could not be grateful enough for Ethan's presence by her side.

As on cue, she looked up and met the glance of the man's eyes as he was on his way to one of the exam rooms. They shared a quick smile then Sarah returned to the charts in front of her.

A mild disturbance in the reception area, however, drew her attention away from her work and she saw with some slight surprise as Scott was exchanging some words with Leah in his usual charming manner. Meaning, he was a douche.

"Never mind." She caught the end of his speech as his eyes found her. "There she is."

"Sir, you can't go in there." Ignoring the admitting nurse's protests, he entered the ED as if he had owned the place.

Sarah took a deep breath.

"What the hell did you tell your mother?" he'd started even before he reached Sarah by the nurses' station. If the commotion outside with Leah hadn't attracted attention, his loud voice and the clear venom in it surely did now.

"The truth." Sarah forced calm into her voice and opted not to look at him.

"The truth?" He scoffed in disbelief. "That you are a whinny bitch?"

Now that made her colleagues walking closer, assessing the situation.

"It's not me who's making a scene here, Scott."

"Don't play with me, Sarah. I am her favorite protégé and yet, now, she can't stop bitching about something that's only in your head. There was always something whacky in there."

"Scott, buddy," Connor appeared by the pair, beating Ethan, who had murder in his eyes, to it. "You should step back." He sounded friendly enough but his stance told otherwise.

"It's all right Dr. Rhodes," Sarah turned to face Scott for the first time since he attacked her. "His bark is worse than his bite. My head is all right, thank you very much. You should have yours checked out, though. We have an excellent Psych ward. Excuse me." And with that she left.

"Don't you dare walk out on me, you little twit. Your stupidity's ruining everything," he cried. "Selfish bitch," he spat the lest part.

"All right," Connor placed a warning hand on his shoulder. "Let's take a walk."

"Wow, April walked up to Ethan as Connor led the man away. "Who the hell was that?"

"Sarah's ex."

"She dated the guy?"

"Yes," Ethan sighed.

April scoffed. "Guess there is something whacky in there."

"Really?" Ethan looked at her in disbelief then, with a shake of his head, he turned away.

Not long after that, he saw Connor returning so he ran up to him.

"You know that douche bag?" Ethan asked Connor as he waited for the elevator.

"Went to school with him," he said wincing as he lifted his right hand and flexed his fingers. "Guess who was the biggest bully of the playground?"

"Want to get that checked?"

"Nah, it's all good."

"He got lucky it wasn't me who showed him the door."

"I know," Connor said, stepping into the elevator. "Hey, Ethan? What's going on with you two, man?" Connor asked. It didn't need to be clarified whom he was talking about.

"I don't know." Ethan's shoulders slumped.

"Just be careful," the other man cautioned as the doors slid closed.

* * *

"So, we're meeting in the club under the music school. It's totally kid-friendly so the boys won't have any problem, either."

"You've already been there?"

"Yeah, Sarah showed me the place on Saturday."

"Of course…"

"April," Ethan's voice was warning.

"Sorry. I just feel that you're spending more time with her than me."

"To be honest, you're not making it easy to spend time with you. That's why I'd like to come. And I'd really like you to meet Claudia and the boys."

"All right," April sighed.

* * *

"Hey, there, girl," Anna greeted Sarah as she walked up to their table on Friday afternoon.

"Hi." She offered a smile to her friend and Paul, who sat wit his arms around her girlfriend's shoulders.

"Look at that baby," Anna cooed at the baby in her arms as if Sarah had never seen Max before. "Isn't he too cute?"

"Hey there, Max," she told the boy reaching for him as he started to fidget to get to her. "And where is your mom, Max?"

"Over there," Paul pointed to the refreshments table where Claudia was in a merry conversation.

"With my big brother," Anna added. "I've never thought my brother to be such a chatterbox but they've been at it at least fifteen minutes. Gosh, aren't they cute, too?" The look Paul gave Anna at that was adorable. He was so in love with that woman.

"Where are the boys?"

"Charlie has a class with the little one and the other is around here. Not much of a talker, huh?"

"He just needs time to warm up," Sarah smiled. "And he actually adores your brother."

"He's not the only one." Anna took another glance at the talking couple.

* * *

Ethan ushered April into the club where the crowd was just as diverse as it had been the last time he was there. He hoped April would relax a little because, at the moment, he could feel her reservation in the tense muscles of the small of her back.

"Is that Sarah?" She stopped in the crowd with a surprised crease of her forehead. Ethan followed her gaze and took sight of Sarah in the middle of an animated conversation with Charlie and another guy he did not recognize. He smiled at the ease with which she was interacting with people… in such a great crowd nonetheless.

He smiled.

"Yes."

"Is she drunk?"

"She… feels comfortable." She was making progress. He was so proud of her.

"It doesn't seem like her kind of crowd. What is this place anyway?" she asked as a small child bumped into her then promptly ran of with a huge burly man with dreadlocks on his heels. "A kindergarten or a biker bar?"

"It actually depends. It belongs to the school and mostly the students come here to practice or just to have fun. Kids and adults alike. Come on, there is Claudia." And with that, he pulled April in the crowd.

Instead of an introduction, however, Ethan opened with a question as soon as he'd reached her friend.

"What's happening there?"

"Brian's developing a crush on Charlie and now he is the etalon. Sarah's taking it hard so when Brian told her that Charlie knows a billion songs, Sarah took it as a challenge. I think she wants a face off."

"That should be interesting." Ethan laughed, watching as Sarah was bickering with Charlie as Brian was watching. When Charlie pushed a guitar into her hands, he turned back to the others. "Claudia, this April. April this is Claudia." The women shook hands with some obvious reservation on both sides but Ethan made an effort to swallow his disappointment.

"Come on," Claudia quickly turned back to him and grabbed his hand. "Anna and Paul are already here."

They quickly settled after that to watch how Sarah was faring against Charlie. Ethan, however, spared a lingering glance to the tall African American man next to Claudia. He seemed nice enough but the relaxed manner as Claudia settled next to him made him raise an eyebrow. He abandoned his train of thoughts when guitar chords began to sound.

To Sarah's credit, she stood her ground for quite some time. She and Charlie were standing on the stage while Brian was throwing random song titles at them to which Paul had also joined at some point. Sarah inevitably lost the contest but judging from the sparkle in her eyes, she had expected that. She was just having fun.

When she came up to the group, Ethan stood up to greet her and she reciprocated the sentiment with an excited hug.

"How cool was that?" she asked without a tiny bit of awkwardness at the unexpected, though not unwelcome, show of affection on her part. Ethan opted for ignoring the look April was giving him and, instead, concentrated on Sarah's open joy. "He does know a billion songs."

"You made him run for his money, anyway. Great job!" Ethan laughed with her.

"Yeah, great job there, Sarah," April also complemented her but Ethan had the uncomfortable feeling that she just wanted to make her presence known.

"Hi," Sarah greeted her unfazed. "I'm so glad you could come." It broke Ethan's heart how sincere she was and all she got from April was a sarcastic scoff.

* * *

It was a little later when Haley and Johnny arrived. Ethan was caught in the middle of an awkward conversation between April and Anna when Ethan noticed a commotion some distance away. Anna was on her feet in an instant, abandoning her not so good-natured bickering with April.

His eyes followed the petit woman who joined Sarah and another woman in a group hug as a wide-shouldered man with a man bun was making some good-natured remark behind them. His bearing screamed soldier but the girls had no problem pulling him into the midst of them.

"Are they for real?" April asked watching the scene unfold. "What are they? A bunch of high-schoolers or what?"

Ethan caught Sarah's eyes and she waved them over with a grin. "Come on," he pulled a reluctant April closer.

"Oh, good. They dress like high-schoolers, too," April remarked under her breath.

Haley had green hair and a lot of tattoos on her. She wore a pair of torn jeans and a bright pink tee which had a unicorn on it. If Anna and Claudia were a handful to handle, with Haley added to the mix, Ethan was sure that they'd be unstoppable.

"Is Sarah really running with this crowd?"

"April, stop," Ethan warned her. "Would it kill you to have a good time?"

"I'm trying but excuse me if I can't find a common ground with this group of… people."

"At least keep your remarks to yourself," Ethan whispered before Haley and Johnny turned to them.

Ethan rolled his eyes with a good-humored smirk when Haley eyed him up and down appreciatively but April beat her to making any observations.

"Nice tattoos," she remarked and, fortunately, apart from Ethan and Claudia, no one noticed the sarcasm in her voice. From the looks of Claudia, April had to work really hard to get her approval.

"She's making them, too," Anna chirped.

"Tattoos?" April frowned.

"Yeah," Haley grinned. "I'm a tattoo artist."

"Artist, is it?" April pressed from behind a fake smile which was definitely noticed now. Ethan cleared his throat.

"You did the one on Sarah's back, didn't you?" he asked, realizing too late that it was the wrong thing to say as, now, he was at the receiving end of April's disapproving look. He ignored it. "It is beautiful."

"Thank you! I'm always happy when someone appreciates my work," Haley said with a grin, giving a sideway glance to April, then turning her full attention to him. "Did she show you the 'Fuck this shit' tattoo, too? I did that, too. Wasn't exactly sober at the time, though," she added with a thoughtful look. Sarah looked horrified.

"Not my proudest moment," Sarah raised her hands in defense.

"She wasn't sober, either," Haley provided helpfully. Anna snickered.

"So, getting wasted and getting tattoos is a thing," Ethan observed, clearly bemused, remembering the first exchange he had heard between Sarah and Anna.

"Man, if it was," Haley barked out a laugh, "we'd be covered in ink."

"Babe," Johnny pulled the green-haired woman into his side. "You are covered in ink."

"And I was sober for all of them," she declared with bravado but the girls gave her a look. "Most of them anyway… The greater part, okay?" she admittedly grudgingly.

"That's more like it," Anna nodded.

"Hey, I don't regret a thing."

* * *

"You have such a charming girlfriend." Claudia stopped by Ethan's side. "And she's got a really busy social life… on her phone."

"I'm sorry, Claudia. I thought it would go over better. I don't even know what's up with her."

"I have a good guess but you wouldn't like my answer." Ethan shook his head sadly. "Come on," Claudia must have picked on his disappointment as she grabbed his arm and began to pull him towards the refreshment table. "Let's get her a drink and talk a little."

Ethan kissed her temple before following her with a grateful look.

* * *

"Is that woman for real?" Haley frowned as she sat down next to Sarah and Charlie.

"What do you mean?" Sarah turned to her.

"She should really remove that stick from her butt."

"Play nice, Haley," Charlie warned her gently.

"She's trying," Sarah added in April's defense.

"From where I'm standing, she isn't trying at all. I wonder how she looks when she's not frowning."

"Haley," Charlie tried again.

"No, really. Look at her. Either she's trying really hard to be nice or she just simply hates our guts."

"That's a little harsh," Sarah looked at her.

"What is harsh?" Johnny joined them.

"We're just talking about April," Sarah supplied. "And Haley just expressed her opinion of her."

"She seems okay," Johnny shrugged, looking at the woman in question, who had just excused herself from the company of Claudia and Ethan, then he sat down. "I do feel like I have to apologize to her for something, though. Did I say something wrong?"

"We all did," Haley answered. "See," she turned to Sarah. "She just hates out guts."

"She just needs more time to feel comfortable with us. She got to know a lot of new people today," Charlie explained, looking at Sarah who gave him a thankful look.

"You are such a nice guy," Haley cooed to the large man.

* * *

Not for the first time in the last thirty minutes, Sarah wondered how the hell she'd got into the present situation. She wrinkled her nose in a contemplative frown over her orange juice as she looked at her companions. Maybe it was spiked, she pondered, and she was just imagining this whole conversation.

It was the only explanation for her letting two kindergarteners, sorry, eight-year-olds, analyzing her love life… or lack thereof.

They were unfairly judgmental, too.

And anyway, who did Brian think he was? Just because he showed up with a cute blonde on his arm, it did not give him the right to judge her.

"And where do you propose I find a man like that?" she asked referring to Prince Charming the girl next to him just described. "Who is the girl anyway?"

"She's Hannah," Brian grinned. "She found me behind that huge ficus."

"See?" Hannah looked at Sarah with her sharp blue eyes. "It isn't that hard."

"May I join the party?" Charlie appeared by their table wearing a huge grin.

"Please," Sarah cried in relief.

"It's all right," Hanna started to stand up. "We were going anyway. Brian will introduce me to his mom."

"Of course," Sarah scoffed, taking a sip from her juice. At this point, she wished for it to be spiked.

Charlie watched the kids go then sat down. "You looked like you needed a rescue," he observed bemused. Sarah groaned.

"I just got an earful of why I should open up my heart and find a man who loves me. I think I have to puke."

"The kids are making a valid point," Charlie shrugged.

"What?" Sarah frowned up at her friend.

"What are you doing, Sarah?" Charlie asked with concern in his voice.

"What do you mean?"

"You and Ethan? You're spending an awful lot of time together."

"Are you jealous?"

"Nah, I know you love me. But what about him? What do you feel for him?"

"I like… spending time with him. When I felt lost and alone, he was there. And he didn't have to, either."

"What happened?"

"I'm suffering from anxiety disorder. I'd hit rock bottom just before I called you. It was Ethan who helped me… he and Brian. It was actually the kid who made me realize how much I missed you, all of you."

"I knew I liked the kid," Charlie laughed. "But you're trying to change the subject. You're close, you and Ethan. It's blindingly obvious."

"And what is so wrong with that?"

"His girlfriend for one. What are his intentions?"

"For God's sake, Charlie," Sarah snapped. "We are just friends."

"I'm sorry," Charlie apologized taken aback by Sarah's uncharacteristic outburst.

"I'm sorry, too," she said after taking a deep breath. "But you don't have to worry. I won't get involved with a man who is taken. And he is a better man than that."

"All right then," Charlie nodded. "So, how are you doing?"

* * *

At first, Ethan had been glad that she was showing some interest in the others but, quickly, his enthusiasm ebbed. April couldn't have picked a worst moment to start getting involved. The group at the next table started singing karaoke and April got interested. Some of the others seemed to be game, too, but for whatever reasons, April insisted on singing a duet with Sarah who, on the other hand, was obviously not comfortable with the idea.

He didn't want to think about it but it was as if she had picked on Sarah's discomfort and played on it.

Anyway, Sarah turned out to have no choice in the matter as April pulled her up on the stage while the others changed concerned or disapproving looks. It was so awkward that Ethan cringed.

Then Sarah started to sing…

It was not only that watching Sarah awkwardly singing "Wannabe" was indeed cringe-worthy but she was so out of tune that it was almost painful to listen to.

Anna and Haley were on their feet in a beat rushing up to the stage in an attempt to support their friend and a small smile appeared on Ethan's face as he noticed the obvious relief in Sarah's expression. It did improve her singing skill, too, even though she was still struggling.

When the girls came back to the table, April looked like she had just had the time of her life. Sarah, on the other hand, quickly excused herself and disappeared.

Worried – and not slightly annoyed by April – Ethan stood, too, and went after Sarah.

He found her hiding inconspicuously behind a potted ficus. He smiled then went to join her.

"I'm sorry," he said, wondering how many times he had already apologized for April's behavior that evening. "April shouldn't have…"

"It's all right."

"If it truly were, you weren't hiding behind a large potted plant."

"Oh," Sarah looked at him surprised. "I'm not hiding." Ethan raised a questioning eyebrow. "I'm just waiting for my face to regain its natural color. I must be looking like a lobster."

"It looks good on you. Why are you sitting here again?"

"Brian's new girlfriend told me that it is a good place to unwind. I'm doing just that… unwinding."

"Sarah," Ethan turned serious after a quick smile. "You don't have to feel uncomfortable in front of us. You shouldn't have felt that way. And April shouldn't have put you in that situation. We came here to have fun… you should have enjoyed being up there."

"It really is okay, Ethan. And I can actually sing. I just don't like performing."

"You do know that I saw you perform just about two weeks ago, right? And you were amazing."

"You want to say that I was not amazing now?"

"Yeah… amazingly bad. But it's all right… as long as you're having fun."

"I know. But I can't help clamming up when I have to sing in front of other people. And it's not about what they might think… I just get so nervous without any reason. It's different when I have a guitar…"

"Well, if you sing half as good as you play the guitar, I can't wait hearing you not perform."

"Maybe one day…"

* * *

"What?" April asked sharply when the silence between them turned tense.

"Was that really necessary?" Ethan asked angrily. "Didn't you see how uncomfortable you made her feel?"

"So, she is uncomfortable? What about me?"

"What about you?"

"I want to go home."

"What?" he turned to her with a frown. "Why?"

"I told you. This is not my scene," she shook her head dismissively. "I'm really not enjoying this."

"All right," Ethan sighed, really not happy about this turn of events. "I promised Brian that I'd listen to him playing the guitar later on. I'll take you home after that."

"Didn't you hear me? I hate this and I want to go home now."

"Why is it that every time we're meeting your friends, I'm required to have a good time but when we're spending time with mine, I have to drop everything and go home because YOU are not having a good time?"

"They are not your friends, Ethan. They are Sarah's."

"So, that's your problem," Ethan scoffed. "Look at that woman, April," he indicated Claudia who was playing Uno with Anna, Steve and Dylan. "I grew up with her. She is practically my sister whom you would have already met had you not turned down all of her invitations to meet you. She is my family… you're just not interested in my life."

"You know that's not true. I'm still trying to convince you to reconnect with your sister."

"Yeah," Ethan nodded. "That's just another chance for you to play high and mighty, isn't it?"

"Do as you want." April's voice was icy cold. "I'm going home."

"Yeah, see you tomorrow."

For a moment, April was taken aback but then she straightened and turned to leave. Ethan let out a tired sigh and ran his hand over his face. That didn't turn out as he had hoped. Why was it so hard for April to accept his life as it was… and the people in it? He looked over at Sarah who was laughing at something Brian had told her, Charlie laughing with her.

"Don't worry," Paul said, sauntering closer. "From what I understand, they are like brother and sister."

"You did meet my girlfriend, right?"

"Right," Paul nodded. "She actually bumped into me on her way out. Man, she looked pissed. But, dude, I'm kind of confused here."

"Nothing new there then," Ethan laughed.

"I'm serious. You have more chemistry with my backpack than you have with her. And you've just met."

"You're crazy."

"And you're screwed." Paul stated the obvious, clapping his hand on Ethan's shoulder sympathetically. "Hey, do you want to know what I think you should do?"

"Not really."

"You should walk up to her," he indicated towards Sarah, "tell her you love her and start making babies." Ethan gave him a bemused look. "What?" Paul noticed. "I did just that and it worked out fine."

* * *

"What is he doing?" Claudia posed the question as, from behind her Uno cards, she was keeping an eye on Ethan and April's obviously tense conversation.

"Who?" Anna asked turning into the directions Claudia was looking and just caught April storming off. "Oh."

"I do not think that it is any of our business," Steve pointed out calmly. "But I can already see that you're ignoring that tiny detail."

"Of course, we are," Claudia scoffed with Anna's full support behind her. "They are so obviously falling for each other. And they are so obviously ignoring it."

"It hurts to watch," Anna added.

"Even I can see that," Dylan supplied. "And Mom says that I'm not exceptionally blessed with social skills."

"We should tell them," Anna came to the conclusion.

"Tell whom what?" Steve was saved from objecting by Paul appearing by their table.

"To tell Sarah and Ethan to suck it up and start making babies," Anna supplied helpfully at which her brother let out a long-suffering sigh. Claudia was enthusiastically nodding next to him.

"I just told that to Ethan," Paul grinned proudly, pulling himself to his full height.

"Oh, God," Steve allowed in a silent desperate tone.

"Adults," Dylan snickered.

* * *

Claudia left just after 9 with Max peacefully sleeping in her arms. Steve had offered to take the two of them plus Dylan home while Brian was trust into the capable care of Ethan.

The atmosphere turned ambient after a while with small groups settling down and having silent conversations while some of the patrons took the stage and were playing popular jazz songs.

Grabbing two glasses of orange juice, Sarah looked over the still rather populated room, looking for Ethan. They were having a great time but they had not so much opportunity to actually talk. She spotted Anna silently slumbering against Paul as the man sitting peacefully with a contented look on his face, listening to the music. That was a rare sight, Sarah thought, to see the always goofy Paul so serene. Haley seemed to be stuck into some children's game and now she was entertaining a bunch of kids, Brian among them. Sarah smiled. She'd always been good with kids. Johnny was talking with an older man, his eyes on his wife. And Charlie was surrounded by women who were so obviously starstruck it hurt. And Charlie was so obviously oblivious to it. She shook her head with an affectionate smile. She loved that man.

Sarah's smile widened when she spotted Ethan sitting under the large ficus.

"I see this place's getting quite popular," she remarked with a bemused smiled as she stopped by the man.

"Brian's girlfriend was right. This is a good place to unwind… or just to observe the world go by for a little without you. Thank you," he accepted the offered drink. He shifted a little and Sarah took that as an invitation to join him.

"I'm sorry April left so abruptly," she spoke up when they settled down.

"Can we not talk about it?"

"I'm sorry. I knew how badly you wanted her to meet Claudia and the boys."

"Please, stop apologizing. You didn't do anything wrong. Some people just don't click."

"But some do."

"That they do," Ethan smiled and put an arm around Sarah's shoulder. She returned the smile then squirmed a little to get more comfortable against the man. They'd been listening to the music for a little while, Sarah getting drowsy, when a small form appeared next to them. She turned her head slightly against Ethan's shoulder and caught sight of a smug Hanna who was standing there with hands on her hips.

"I told you so," she remarked then promptly left.

That she did. Sarah's heart quickened with acceptance and it scared her.

* * *

The night with the guys tilted Ethan's world out of its axis and Ethan had spent the last two weeks as a stranger in his own life. It was great to reconnect with Paul and he really liked the others as well. Claudia seemed to be enjoying their company as well and it quickly turned out – not surprising anybody, no doubt – that she and Steve had started seeing each other. Ethan was happy for them.

His love life was a completely other matter, though. Apart from some random remarks, Paul didn't push him but Ethan could not get their short conversation in the club out of his mind. What if his friend was right? But this thing with April was working. Or, was it? He couldn't help but notice the little things he'd been willing to ignore so far and he was dismayed to realize that it might have not been working at all. It was hard to accept the truth, though, when it came in the company of disappointment…

And there was Sarah who had become such an important part of his life. She was a peaceful island amidst all the confusion. And while the conversation with Paul had opened his eyes to a lot of things regarding his relationship with April, Ethan remained stubborn regarding his relationship with Sarah. He cherished what they had and didn't want to lose it for something they might have.

That was one of the reasons why he was so pissed when the rumor reached him what stunt Sarah had pulled up in the Psych ward. He could have lost her completely.

"What the hell is wrong with you?" He couldn't help his angry tone when he finally managed to track down Sarah in the locker room.

"Please," her voice was irritatingly composed while she was packing up for the day, "I've already had this conversation with Dr. Charles."

"I don't care! What kind of recklessness made you do this… putting a knife into a delusional patient's hand? You are not this stupid."

"Stop it." Her levelled voice and her hard stare as she looked at him at once caught him off guard so he took a step back. "I knew what I was doing."

He took a deep breath to compose himself. "I know," he allowed. "I don't doubt you. What I doubt is the human mind. You had no way to know how the man would react. God, what if he had stabbed you? Do you even…" The rest of his sentence was lost in a confused haze as Sarah's lips was suddenly on his as she was kissing him like there was no tomorrow.

As she tried to pull away, he followed her lips with his. He wanted this. During the last couple of weeks, it had been creeping upon him unnoticed but now that it was in front of him, he couldn't deny it. He wanted this. He wanted this feeling of belonging he was currently experiencing. He wanted Sarah.

His searching lips had never reached their destination, though, as Sarah firmly pushed him away. And with that push, reality came rushing in and it was only made more palpable by Sarah's wide eyes as she was looking at him.

She was shocked as if whatever had just happened had been beyond her control.

He tried to say something… to reach out for her… but she took a step back.

She was right, of course. It wasn't right what they'd just done. But, still, he couldn't understand her apparent panic. Nothing happened that they could not discuss. They just have to find out what they want then go from there.

But, apparently, Sarah had other ideas.

By the time he could have formed a coherent sentence, she'd been gone.

**TBC**

_Thanks for reading and sorry for the mistakes!_


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